To be a Lady
by TryingTooHard
Summary: Alexandria serves as a servent in the town of Meade, her Lord is aloof and mysterious, her Lady still mourns the death of her daughter. In an attempt to restore his family's honor as mages, Lord Marvin chooses to lie, and claim Alexandria as his own blood. In this romantic comedy, our protagonist is thrust into Chorus, changing Alan & John's relationship forever
1. A night's adventure

Hello, my first fanfic. Please review. I might even take suggestions for story progression!

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Castle Meade, 5th century HE

As her eyes skimmed over the obscure shapes and signs, Alexandria realized the impossibility of her actions. As her eyes skimmed over the ancient scripts in the dim light, her body shook from fear. She knew the price of her actions would be so devastatingly terrible, she didn't even want to imagine it. She had trespassed, her a servant, a peasant, touching her Lord's most precious possessions. In her hands she held his family's legacy of mage scripts, the only reason Lord Marvin held any political power. While he had no Gift, or no useful amount of Gift, many in his family had. They had documented their discoveries, they received copies of the rarest scripts, and they owned many one-of-a-kind documents. Her Lord's family once was considered some of most of powerful mages centurys ago, they were prominent members of mage society; they were listed in the Book of Gold, but now her Lord's family is considered a joke. The legendary Gift had not shown up in her Lord's line for generations. Her mind was working so quickly, as the seconds ticked she felt her heart quicken. She stopped flipping pages and carefully replaced the script in its place. Her reasoning for coming into the highest tower, the forbidden tower, had been more than curiosity. She felt a strong tug, a pull, towards this room.

The tower was the only tower to the left side of the castle, the only place in the castle the Lord cleaned himself. No servants were allowed into the tower, the Lady was never seen here, nor the Lord's children. This tower was the Lord Marvins. No one trespassed here, except Alexandria on this fateful morning. As her lip quivered she checked the windows before she turned the knob of the ancient door. It creaked so loudly she felt her eyes become heavy with tears, every inch felt like a betrayal to her escape. Out of the windows she could see the sun's first rays had broken over the horizon long ago; if she did not hurry there would be no escape.

Her master was not kind, her master was cruel. Her master would hang her, would drown her, would hire mages to set her to fire. He did not speak to his servants, merely he walked around his castle like a ghost. If he was not haunting the castle, he was on duty as a knight. He was a large strong man, and he and his wife have produced 7 sons to be sent to training. A daughter had been born, and lived till she was 9, but a year ago she had died while visiting court. The sweating sickness took his daughter, and since then the mistress has stayed in her chamber. Her sons were pages, or squires, and a few were knights already with their father. She could no longer have children, she spent her days locked up in a few select rooms with her ladies in waiting. There was a rumor that this year she would leave to court for the winter.

Alexandria was thinking about ever aspect of her Lord's life, trying to think if he would catch her. He could be on his way up to the tower now, he could be visiting his wife, he could have left the castle without Alexandria even hearing about it. He was a very private man. He was a very frightening man. He spoke to no one, he was quite and though he was large he never ate much. He was unnerving, he was intimidating. He never said it was forbidden to enter the tower, but it was known. Maybe years ago, he had told the Head Servant. But no one had been caught in this tower, no one was stupid enough. _Im an imbecile. Im a dead imbecile._ Tears were streaming down her face as she made her descent.

The spiraling staircase was loud and dangerous; no renovations had been made since the original construction of the castle. The stairs were loud, they bent under her meager weight. The staircase smelled dark and damp and old. She crept and she cried and she prayed, _Why must I put myself in these situations, why did I come here?_ But as her melodramatic journey ended, her heart skipped a beat. _No ones waiting for me, no one knows yet...and maybe I wont be found out._ As she realized there was hope, her normal demeanor surfaced. A seriousness to her mission snapped back, she carefully crept through the doorway to the tower, she sneaked into her lodging, she snuggled into her bed. All of her roommates were asleep, most were even snoring. She roughed her clothing up while laying down, and made herself to look like she herself just woke up. Her hair was returned to a mess. She lazed in bed for what seemed like forever, as she relaxed and accepted the lull of sleep..a loud ringing startled her.

The bells of the third tallest tower rung, slow and steady, the largest bell could even be heard from miles around, _Time to wake up and get dressed..hate to miss this mornings meal._ She sighed and felt the lack of sleep, her body felt weak. The adrenaline from her adventure was worn off, and her body had relaxed to its fullest. She hoped there was no physical signs for her lack of sleep, she hoped the bags under her eyes were the same as normal, she hoped her eyes were white and not bloodshot. Standing up she let the blood rush from her head. She sighed, and fixed her crumpled clothes. Most of her room mates slept nude, because they had only one set of clothing. But Alexandria didn't change from her clothes last night, and she was glad - it was cold in the tallest tower. Her Lord's castle governed the town of Meade; which itself was as old and decrepit as could be. _Everything here is so..musty. _She could feel the routine frown on her face, and she could feel the drain on her energy. _This is going to be a long, long day._

The schedule of a servant at her Lord's castle was a dreary one. No one visited her Lord's castle. The schedule asked enough of the servants to keep the castle clean, but not enough to make their work hard. In fact, it was an easy life the servants had here. It was low pay, but the castle was huge and room and board was given to those who worked it. Many of the servants were daughters from the town of Meade, the economy in Meade was slow. To send their 9 year old daughters away had advantages, when their daughters had midsummer's off (because of the lack of festive in the castle), they were able to visit their families. Their extra income helped keep the families in Meade going, some could even afford for their sons to learn Script. When the young woman came back home they had marriages arranged for them, usually with their childhood friends. They became wives and already knew cleaning and other household chores. When their children were grown they came back to work. This castle was ran by the older woman, and they gave the assignments to the older child-girls, who helped the younger girls learn household chores. There was rarely anyone from 14-24 working in this castle.

In the mornings the older woman woke up later, they prepared the breakfast. While they cooked and maintained the kitchen the sleepy younger lady-children attended to cleaning up the lodgings. An hour after they woke up, the youngsters and the elders ate together. The Lady was fed whenever she chose to wake up, for she would morn into the night and wake up past noon. The chores changed from day to day for the youngers, but the olders always had laundry and mending. A few younger girls would help for a few days, as to get the feel for sewing. The olders would go to bed earlier, and the youngers would finish up the days work and then sleep. There were rules, no men were allowed to work in the castle, except the stables. Those men went back to the town to sleep and live, but they had a much higher pay. Life in the town of Meade was slow, relaxing, and very very boring.

Alexandria found this life impossible, she always tried to do things to make life interesting. She had taught herself a small amount of letters, she knew very basic mathematics. She could sing,_ Terribly_, and she memorized some dance steps. While the castle was void of men, the weapons room was unguarded and easily accessible. Alexandria had toyed around with the manuals on how to sword fight, and on nights when everyone was occupied Alexandria found a stick and pretended to be a knight. Alexandria never grew out of playing, she she spent her nights out late running around and pretending to be an adventurer in the vacant practice yards. She was always tired, and today was no different

Her daily routine was the same as ever, no changes. As every minute ticked away she expected her Lord to walk by and pull her aside. She was excited that she got away with the deed. But she felt that she was still in danger. The room had been dusty, she had tried to pull the book out carefully, but she knew there must have been some disrupt in the dust. _The room was so dusty though,_ she thought_, that if he didn't go up for a day there will be no evidence._ Her hopes didn't come true though. As she scrubbed the flagstones thinking, her master was walking up the creaking stairs.

After breakfast in the morning, the real work began. Today, Alexandria was chosen to bring the Ladies rugs to the laundry room. From her excessive play, Alexandria was very strong. Last night Alexandria chose to stay safe in her bed, she was too tired to even take a midnight stroll. With her energy and strength she easily carried them to the laundry room. She had a conversation with a brawny armed old woman, and then she was asked to help out. A sickness had spread through the room and a few of the older women were out with colds.

While Alexandria was washing shirts she realized she liked the work, for one she was kept busy physcially but not mentally. She could have conversations with the older women and day dream all she liked. Most of the work she was assigned to to involved moving around a lot, but the up-and-down motions were easily learned. Her mind was set to drift, she imagined being a royal mage-princess named Mary-Sue. She was loved by all and beautiful and the best at everything.

A sigh escaped her lips and all the older women smiled as if there was a joke. "Are you in love Missy?" asked the oldest and most toothless of the bunch. "No, im not in love. I was just imagining being in a higher position in life" She responded in a dreamy voice. The older women rolled their eyes and made faces at the younger girl, another asked in a slightly raspy voice "You do know that one of the Lord's sons married a girl of our rank. She lives in court, a very lucky girl. Her name was Silva, or something close to that. The most beautiful girl you've ever seen." That didn't catch Alexandria's fancy, she would hate to marry one of the Lords rambunctious boys. Alexandria resigned from her daydream and put on a serious face "Well, very lucky for that girl. But really, who would want to marry a son of the Lords?" The older women looked at each other "Well anyone who could -you've obviously never seen our Lord's children. His boys look like princes, and his late-daughter, bless her heart, was a beauty if you've ever seen one. Its a shame she died the night before her debut, she hadn't even been introduced to a soul." Alexandria nodded her head at the insipid chatter, "Hmm, well, do I have any work left?" The older women smiled, told her thank you for the help, and let her leave. She could her them gossip behind her, about nonimportant things concerning the mistress going to court for winter. She inwardly sighed at the fickleness of bored women.

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I hope everyone enjoyed the first passage, please review!


	2. An information overload

Castle Meade, 5th century HE

While walking down the corridor towards her destination, her footsteps filling the empty halls. Her steps slowed as she popped her fingers, she exhaled and let a wave of relaxation take over. She let a smile conquer her face, it grew as her heart lifted, _Tonight will be so much fun, I will dance in the yard and run through the forests tonight. _She felt so young, so alive. While her mind imagined the fun to be had, her optimism caused her to speed up and increase her stride. She heard a different set of steps, which a moment ago had matched hers perfectly.

She stopped. The steps stopped in such perfect unison she thought that she must have imagined it before. She started walking, and again she heard no differently paced footsteps. She hurried her walk, nearly to the point of running. Her nerves were shot, she needed somewhere to calm down, to get things together. She saw her lodgings, she hurried to the distant door, each step filled with power. She could feel a set of eyes bore into her, she thought she could feel her very heart and mind being read at once.

She turned the knob and shut the door, instantly feeling scared and shaky. Her legs gave out and she slowly slid down the door. Her knees bent and her elbows resting on her legs, she hung her head. Her body was still, and she could feel her heart pumping and raging in her chest, she could feel her legs shake from the adrenaline leaving her system.

_What am I scared of? Just because someone else was walking down the MAIN hallway doesn't mean I need to feel as though I'm being hunted._ She felt the logic calm and ease her mind. _Okay, if I stay here any longer I will be scolded. _She knew she must leave her safe haven, she had a few hours left of work._ But,_ she thought,_ I don't think I can muster the strength to leave my bed in the middle of the night. This has been quite frightful, I'm now scared of my own shadow._

She stood up, fixed her shirt, patted down her skirt, and let out a long sigh. _Time to get back to work_.She turned the knob and opened the door boldly, convinced that all danger was in her mind. Standing and inch from sweeping zone of the door, was a tall, broad shouldered man with a hooded cloak covering the top half of his face.

"H..Hello?" She said, her voice sounding abnormally high and weak. The man smiled, his white teeth shining in comparison to his dark brown beard. As it registered to Alexandria that this man, the man in front of her smiling, was her Lord. She slowly covered her mouth with her hands, shock numbing the time. The man only smiled more. She jerked herself into action, she straightened her posture and bowed stiffly. "Good day to you my Lord."

He slowly slid off the hood to his cloak, his entire face exposed. Alexandria studied his expression and all she could tell is that he had a purpose for being here. The purpose was a mystery to her. The ghost of the castle stood before her, his posture stiff, his face stern, and his regality plainly flaunted. _He looks like a king _she thought, her fear making every second go by so slow that she was in agony. He looked like he was about to say something, but instead closed his mouth again. He looked at her with the utmost urgency, "Come with me", his voice was deep and rumbled.

He turned swiftly and immediately walked in the direction the Lady's quarters. Alexandria had to walk fast to keep up his pace. His strides were large and each step seemed to take him farther than three of Alexandria's paces. Her heart quickened, she was confused beyond reasoning. _At times like this, the only thing to do is go with the flow_ she thought, _theres nothing I can do right now, except follow this dangerous man._

As she predicted, the destination was the Lady's chambers. The Lord smiled at her, which caused her yet more confusion, the Lord turned the knob of the door and gestured for Alexandria to enter. After she walked through the doorway, he followed her and closed the door.

Alexandria studied the room, through a glass-pane window light gently came in. The light fell like a blanket upon the floor, upon the bed was a white quilt; the panels of the quilt were depictions of old folk-tales. The bed had three chairs making a half circle around it, _probably for the ladies in waiting,_ there was a set of shelfs filled with childrens' toys and dolls. A set of chairs surrounded yet another window, which had a romantic view of the lake and surrounding forest. The room felt as light as air. The beauty of the lace accents, the elegance of the simple design. It captivated Alexandria's attention for so long, she was so absorbed that she didn't even view the dark figure sitting in the middle of the room.

In a plush chair next to a small round corner table was the Lady. She wore a plain black gown it contrasted with her pale white skin, her hair was pinned close to her head and she wore a black veil. The amounts of blond hair visible shone like gold; but in close vicinity, even through the veil, wrinkles along the mouth and eyes could be see. Her thin frame seemed to tremble with every breath. _I heard the Lady was not well, but I had no idea she was so pitiful. From what I heard she was healthy, not on the brink of death._ She tore her eyes of the Lady and shot a quick glance at the Lord, his unguarded eyes were full of sadness.

After what seemed like an hour, the Lady made a motion for both of them to sit in the chairs near her small round table. The Lord picked up and moved two of the chairs that were previously by the viewing window. When they were both seated the Lady looked at her husband's face for the first time, and he looked back at her with meaning. She gave a feeble smile, which he returned. Alexandria felt she was intruding upon a special moment, yet she could not leave. _Did my Lord find out about my intrusions upon the forbidden tower? If he had he would be furious, not gazing into his once-lovely wife's face._ She felt nervous, the anticipation getting the worst of her, she began to fidget.

Ending their moment, the Lord turned his chair to face Alexandria, his hand gently resting on his wife's hand. He smiled out of awkwardness and said, "Forgive me, but I am a man of few words." He let a minute go by and continued, "What is said here must stay here, it is private. Do you understand?" His eyes fixed to hers, and she nodded her head.

"You went into my tower." He said it in such a matter-of-fact tone, Alexandria couldn't lie, she merely nodded her head scared still. "Do you know what treasures are in that tower?" She nodded her head. "What made you want to go to my tower? You stole nothing, if theft was your intention..the door would not have opened. My great grandfather paid to have that nifty spell on the door." Alexandria was so spellbound by the situation she didn't register the question. The Lord apparently understood, for he asked again, "Why did you enter that tower?" He gazed at her, like he already knew her answer. Alexandria's bottom lip quivered, she was terrible under pressure. She spend at least a minute getting things together before she answered very quietly, "That tower called to me."

The Lord smiled, his white teeth once again contrasting his dark beard. "The tower called to you?" he asked casually. Alexandria nodded her head, gaining some confidence. The Lord looked happy, the Lady looked grim though. He looked again at Alexandria, "I will explain.. the door repels those who wish to plunder the room, it does this by removing the want to. Why else would I leave the families fortune alone and unguarded? No one ever thinks of that room, except those who the door attracts." Alexandria was still confused, she made no sense of all he said. "You still don't understand? You, my dear, are strong in your Gift. You might not know it, but you have potential. Thats what the door wants, those who have the potential." He smiled, as the Lady looked even more grim.

"Now, please excuse me, but what is your name?"

"Alexandria." She said meekly

"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, I am Lord Marvin of Godfrey." He gestured towards his wife. "And this is my Lady Cecily of Godfrey." She had a pained look on her face, as though each word he spoke tore into her heart.

Alexandria had no idea what to say, she was dumbfounded. The Lord had spoken, the Lady was in front of her. She had been praised for intruding upon the Lords private tower. She was dirty and her clothes were foul, yet she sat in the Lady's plush chairs. The Lord who was always thought of as cruel, smiled at her as she thought this. The Lord Marvin must have noticed her lack of words, for he continued the conversation.

"I have a proposition for you." Alexandria was even more shocked. "Godfrey is in the book of gold, we were the right hand of the Conté before the Naxons. When the Gift dwindled from our line, it was a disgrace. They said we were cursed. We have had 8 children, none with the Gift. I believe that it is time to return the magic to our name." Alexandria stiffened with fear, _Does he wish to have an illegitimate child with me? _Before Alexandria could freak out, Lord Marvin continued. "You are about the same age as my daughter would be." He looked deeply at her, and the Lady Cecile let out a wail. The sobs grew louder as she could hear the Lady Cecile murmur "..just like her.." After hearing this Lord Marvin looked yet again at Alexandria, studying her every feature. "You look a lot like our daughter."

A sadness crept over the Lord's face, as the Lady burst into tears. He stood up and walked over to his wife, he bent over to wrap his arms around her. She sobbed heavily into him. With a frown on his face, Alexandria could see the deeply etched lines in his face._ The daughter was well loved.._ She sighed for the tenth time.

Putting himself back together, the Lord straightened himself out. He again put on a serious face and looked at Alexandria. "What i'm asking of you, is masquerade as our daughter. We will fast-tutor you in court life. By winter you will debut in court. While in Corus we will have private tutors teach you magic. You will be literate, you will be a noble. Do you want this" Alexandria was so stunned she couldn't speak. This must have been a dream, and not an entirely pleasant one. Too much too fast, she couldn't do anything but nod.

Apparently that was enough, for the Lords face brightened up. "Im glad you consent! I must leave, I have important matters to attend to." He said goodbye to his still crying wife and walked briskly from the room.

Alexandria just sat there, stunned. Unable to move she just sat there watching a frail woman cry.


	3. A new leaf

Hello, if you like it please review. This is my first Fan Fic, if you want to give me any suggestions please do. There are so many paths this story can take.

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After what seemed like hours Alexandria's back began to stiffen and her initial shock dulled. Finally spoke up in a quite gentle voice, "Madame?" The lady of the castle stifled her sobs and raised her head to look at Alexandria.

"Do you know your name?" She asked with a tired smile. Confused Alexandria nodded her head as her eyes traced the woman face. The rims around her eyes were red, _From the amount of crying i've seen this poor woman might as well be crying blood by now._ The Lady Godfrey sat very straight and her chair, and almost suddenly a determined look overtook her face. "Dear, do you know your name. I want to hear you say it."

Alexandria felt confused, but replied "Alexandria." The determined woman looked at Alexandria sternly, a fire lept into her eyes. She slowly, and very carefully, told Alexandria "No, I believe your mistaken. You are Anna Godfrey, you reside in the town of Meade."

Alexandria felt like this was a game being played, she felt stupid for not realizing it yet. Smiling she said "Yes, I am Anna of Godfrey."

The older woman gave a warm smile. "Ahh, I see Lady Anna. Pray may I ask, why do you live in a town called Meade? I would assume since you are a Godfrey you'd live in a town named after such a noble name."

Anna was stumped. She had already lost at this game the Lady Godfrey was playing. Alexandria's shoulders slumped, "I don't know."

The Lady Godfrey gave Alexandria a sympathetic look. "Dear, you wouldn't know such a thing. The reason is that the one of the Godfrey family members married the Meade family. The town of Godfrey was shortly destroyed from a natural disaster. The Godfrey family was invited to live in the castle of Meade. The small Meade family died off, the head of the family wiled it to the Godfreys. Now it is our humble town. There are many, many things you will be expected to know, most of which you will have no possibility of knowing. That is why you must study hard. You must study politics, our history, other prominent families, among other feminine studies. We will be leaving to court in less than two months time. You will have to study twice as hard as any other woman at your age, no one must be able to tell you from our daughter... Bless the Goddess that you look so much like her."

Alexandria looked at the older woman, she saw the way her back was kept straight. _Theres so much to learn, do I really want to do this? I do want to become like this woman?_

The older woman spoke again, "I wish you to call me 'Mother', I know this is all very upsetting and beyond sudden. But there are many positive outcomes that may sprout from this."

Alexandria felt so strange, so many questions popped into her head. _If I ask her everything at once she might cry, or worse get angry._ Alexandria made eye contact with the Lady Godfrey. "M..Mother, how will the servants not know that I am one of them. They still gossip about how Anna died!"

"We have already thought of that, earlier today your father", she smiled, "and I sat down and talked. The plan is that an old friend of ours will concoct a powder for us. Its enchanted to make people forget a specific event. Its been used for years on townsfolk, but do not tell any commoner." She sighed, "This old friend of the family is making a large amount, he might wonder why, but he wont speak of it to anyone."

Alexandria was fascinated by any mention of magery. She looked at the Lady Godfrey and asked, "What is this event everyone will forget, and how will you administer the powder to them?"

The Lady Godfrey loved to speak, and she hadn't wanted to speak for years. The excitement of tricking the entire town brought a surge of alertness to her mind. "They will forget that I ever took Anna to court, therefore they will assume she is alive, and that you are her. The powder will be given in their food for seven nights, then there will be no shred of the memory left. All that miss the medication will just assume they are wrong, for the vast majority will believe Anna is alive and well. And you will be acting the part. The townspeople have been removed from the castle for many years, they have limited contact with our workers." She set her hands clasped on her lap, satisfied with her answer.

Alexandria stared at this woman. _Is she crazy? Is this entire situation insane? I believe so, I am really very worried by these people and the recent events. Wasn't she crying minutes ago? Hasn't she bawled her eyes out every night for as long as I have worked here? This woman cannot be mentally stable. _What seemed like a thousand thoughts blazed through Alexandria. She was tired of all of this, she wanted to go and stare at a wall for hours just to slow her mind down enough to process this.

Alexandria looked through the window, and saw the sun was setting. _Just one night ago I was free from all this worry._ A long sigh escaped her mouth. As a second thought she hoped sighing wouldn't become a habit.

Lady Godfrey looked bored, to Alexandria she said "I'm sorry this has been so radical. To be honest i'm very happy to have some excitement like this. Being stuck home with nothing to do must have contributed to my depression. I've missed court so much, but the idea of returning to where my daughter died horrified me." She looked at Alexandria with what only could be a brave smile, "But we must move on, time is limited and there are things to be done. I will treat you well dear. I have yet to ask you of your family? Anyone who will miss you, will there be any complications?"

"I had a family, but my mother died when I was young. When I was younger I didn't attend to the castle like most girls, I kept my father and my home in order. But when my father died I came to work at the castle full time, our home was taken up by our neighbors. Their son had just married and needed somewhere to live, and I didn't feel like taking care of a house." The impression of these words told the Lady Godfrey that Alexandria was very impersonal to it all.

"Dear, don't you miss your father? Had you no friends as a child?"

"I had a few, I was not a lonely child. They have no seen me for years, so I doubt they remember me even. My father was like every other man in this village, he worked and he drank. I never saw him much, he was drafted and died in an accident. Fell off a horse and broke his neck. You could say there was not much to miss, but I still did love him. He was not a bad man." Alexandria looked at the Lady Godfrey, and realized that she listened to every word. Amazed Alexandria looked at her and continued, "When will the powder be administered to the servants?"

"Tonight, for the first week I must ask of you to stay in your room. Do not venture out, else another dangerous memory might be construed. We want their memories to blend all incidents into the back of their thoughts. In your room I will start to teach you your letters, we have many tutors scheduled to come in three weeks time. Till then I will teach you the basics, to help lessen any chances of suspicion. We have chosen teachers who have heard nothing of our family. In a weeks time, when all of the servants have forgotten Anna's death, we will get the seamstresses to tailor many fine gowns and palace garments – for us both. Your hair will be trimmed, and you must learn proper hygiene techniques, I will teach you all of the basics." She smiled and looked at Alexandria. "I will escort you to a room very close to this one, you will be required to bathe, I have laid out a sleeping gown for you. Please clean yourself up. Servants will bring in your food, you must never leave your room. I will claim you are a visitor who does not speak this language, please never speak to the servants. If possible keep your head down, or lay in bed. This is all very secret."

The lady breathed in and an odd expression crossed her face "By the way, how old are you?"

"10 years old M'lady.. but.. I understand Lady Godfrey, this is a wonderful opportunity for me. But please, there is one thing I want out of this deal, one thing I cannot proceed without."

"What is it dear?" The prior statement had perked up the Lady's ears.

"I wish to be trained as a mage." Alexandria meant this, this was all she wanted and all she required. She gazed at the Lady Godfrey with such passion, she felt she could melt away all objection.

The Lady Godfrey looked very pleased. "Dear, thats WHY you're here. We want you to be a mage, you will hush the rumors of our lineage being cursed. We know you have a mediocre gift at least, when the tutors come we will have its strength tested. Our excuse for no prior training will be that we never suspected that our lat child would have the gift, when the seven before had not."

Everything clicked in Alexandria's mind. She was a servant, she was to be used to quiet a rumor. She was going to be given a wondrous life, one she had dreamt of many nights. She was expected to call herself Anna, and behave in a noble manner. She would be a mage, powerful or not. This woman did not love her, but she was a kind woman. She wanted to treat Alexandria as a daughter truly, she missed her daughter still. Replacements help. _ Im a replacement. Just a replacement._ Realizing this Alexandria closed her heart to this old woman. _She is kind, but she is using me. She does not love me, she even pretends i'm her own daughter in this private situation. She might honestly believe so also. She is lonely and half-insane._ Alexandria felt sad and a twinge of regret for being so harsh_, she wanted to have a good relationship with this woman, even if she is odd and depressing._

Alexandria smiled, she felt happy. All her dreams were to come true, if she was lucky she might be able to privately learn defensive combat. The world was looking up. While in a pleasant daze, the older lady stood up. Alexandria stood up slowly, attempting to mimic the noble woman's grace. She failed, but not badly. She turned and looked at the woman, _ I had no realized how short she is._ Then Alexandria realized they were about the same height. _I didn't know I was short also.. _A sigh escaped Alexandria, she had never payed so much attention to herself before.

The woman's voice broke through Alexandria's silence, "Let me lead you to the room, the servants should be busy somewhere else. If not, and we run into some, do not look suspicious." The Lady lead the way and Alexandria followed.

The walked down the deserted corridor, their footsteps echoing. Shortly they reached Alexandria's new room. The door swung open easily and they both stepped into the room. The room was spacious, and delicately decorated. There was a large window directly across from the door twelve feet away. Directly in front of the window sitting chairs were positioned in a half circle. To the left was a large canopy bed, the bedsheets were lilac and matched the canopy. Laid on the bed was a softly colored pastel nightgown with a pleaded front. The pillows looked large and fluffy, Alexandria could see feathers poking out of the pillows._ I had no idea all nobles could afford goose feather pillows. _With closer examination Alexandria saw that the lilac bedspread was a quilt, with the original color being the same color as the thread used. It gave the blanket a refine subtle appeal, and the flower print was very delicate. Alexandria looked towards her right, where there was a bookcase and a fireplace. The hearth was warm and the fire crackled in a splendid melody. There was a door on that wall, which could only lead to the bathroom.

"Dear, this is your room. Please bathe and before you put on your new dress. I will teach you the finer points of nail, teeth, and hair care tomorrow. Make sure to wash your face. When taking a bath use soap, and do not get the floor wet." She gave Alexandria a deep hug, even though she stank. "I'm glad your back Anna."

She released Alexandria from her embrace and walked out of the room, shutting the door and locking it. Alexandria turned around and looked at her newly acquired wealth. Everything in the room looked like a painting, which Alexandria's grubby fingers could smudge. She turned to the right and walked past the warming fireplace and into the bathroom. The stone floor was cold, but the expensive rugs stayed a comfortable temperature. The drapes when closed would keep the cold out, and when opened would allow warming light to enter her room. Everything was beautiful.

She walked into the bathroom and looked at the warm bath water in the ivory colored tub. There was a privy tucked behind a wall, and a basin of water to wash her hands. Above was a glace mirror mounted on the wall. She had never seen a real mirror. She saw the steam rise from the tub and slowly slipped her clothes off. Bare naked, Alexandria walked towards the mirror. She looked back and saw a muddy face, and that was all. _How did they see their noble and allegedly beautiful daughter in my appearance? _She sighed yet again and walked towards the bath. _The old me is gone, this is the start of my new life._ Her words seemed hollow in her mind, they seemed to frail.

She needed to feel certain, to feel confident about this. This time she spoke aloud, with her only audience herself. "The old me is gone, this is the start of my new life. My new life starts now." She felt strong in her resolve. She dipped her foot in the warm water and let the rush of pleasure run up her leg. Her first warm bath. As she slowly slid her body in the water, the dirt melted off. She smiled and dunked her head under the water. _My new life starts now._


	4. A love of learning

She felt the water against her skin, and time seemed at a standstill. The only reason she considered getting out of the tub was the water growing cold, her skin was prickled in goosebumps. She looked at her wrinkled fingers and the now brown water lap against her skin. She had washed her hair at least three times; her scalp felt weird with the lack of grease, almost dry. She slowly retracted herself from the tub, letting the water pool into droplets which slid down her body. The cold air against her fresh skin felt like a shock. She grabbed a linen towel from off a rack and wrapped it against her wet body.

She finished drying off and carefully put on her delicate underwear and sleeping gown. The clean clothes against her clean skin felt refreshing and smooth. She put on some lovely flat slippers and walked over to her bathroom mirror. The image reflected was of a young lady, lightly tanned.

She had slightly arched dark eyebrows. She had long tangled brown hair, which was darker at the roots and gradually turned into a chestnut brown. It was straight, with the slightest wave. She had full pink cheeks, and a soft chin. _I look like a lady,_ she said as she drank the image in front of her. As soon as she realized her beauty, she realized her flaws. The bridge of her nose had a bump, and there was defiantly an acne problem on her forehead. _Oh Goddess I hope that clears up, no one will love a zit-faced girl._ She sighed, and as she looked at her face from the side view she saw that her ears looked small, and that her lips were small – not plump at all.

She met her own eyes, and saw the clear serene blue with a tinge of topaz towards the center. They did not compliment each other quite right, which was odd; it gave her eyes a striking appearance. After gazing into her eyes she realized that it became quite plain after a few moments, and that her eyelashes were not very long. They were thick and black though, her lips were pale, and her overall skin color looked dirty. _I look like I rubbed orange clay on my face. A tan is not complementary with my looks!_

She felt very exposed for the first time in her life. She felt special, yet ugly. She felt accomplished, yet also lacking. As if she were okay, but not good enough. She walked over to the window to reflect her body against the glass. She was slim from the lack of interest in food, but her hips still seemed to large. _All the food is disgusting here, how do those other girls shovel it into their mouthes? I should eat more, I feel faint often, but I can't bring myself to love it like others do.._ She looked at her bust, _They are not big. Should they be big?_ She looked at herself, her body looked balance. She was not striking, but she was healthy looking. After looking at herself for a while she realized she was not as thin as she thought she did. Her thighs looked too large. _I'm shaped like a pear!_ She sighed again.

_What does it even matter? Why should I care?_

Then she smiled; it was full of self confidence. _I'm beautiful enough for one person. Under all that dirt and grime, I'm just as pretty as I feel. I'm just the same as I was a day ago, a girl._ She stretched her arms out and took in a deep breath. Letting the air slowly escape her she walked over to the princess-worthy bed. She lazed herself down and allowed the soft fabric to brush her skin. A heaviness pressed on her eyelids, and she drifted into a peaceful slumber.

She awoke that morning having not dreamt, her gown was wrinkled. She felt a drop in her heart at seeing her most beautiful garment crinkled. As she came back to her own body, she saw a maid scuttle out of her room. She thought she recognized her. _It doesn't matter, i'm supposed to be silent!_

She went to the bathroom and saw a fresh warm bath had been made for her. The steam slowly rose towards the ceiling. The tub had been scrubbed from her last experiment. _That woman must have wondered how a "lady" had made such a mess! _ She took off her garment and looked at her body naked. Her belly-button was fascinating. She spent at least a minute staring at it. She poked her finger inside and brought out an assortment of dirty and gunk. Her stomach turned over and she immediately felt the urgency of the bath.

She sank into the bath and smelled the bath salts she could choose to bathe with. She chose a strawberry scented sack of small rocks and sand. She let some pour into the palm of her hand, she allowed a little water to mix with the sand and white rocks. She assaulted her ragged hair with the stuff. The small white rocks activated and reacted like soap. Bubbles slid down her body and into the water, lining the side of the tub with the fizzles.

She used the salt on her body, careful to be gentle on her bosom, but brutal on her belly-button. She cleaned every inch of her body. This time the water did not turn dark. She dried in the same fashion as yesterday, and this time she looked at the utensils laid out for personal grooming. She did not know how to use anything correctly. _I'll take my chances on that comb though._ She ran it through her hair wincing with pain almost constantly. Knots and tangles glued together could not part without a cry of pain from her mouth. Tears were streaming down her face by the end, her scalp burned, and her hair was almost dried. Her hair felt lighter, almost like feathers attached to her head. She felt glamorous.

Walking into the bedroom she saw that the Lady sat in a chair by the window. The towel covering her naked body felt miniscule. She felt exposed and embarrassed. The lady turned her head and noted her lack of clothing. "I'm here to assist you in picking a gown, and putting it on. You _will need help. _I still do." She smiled and stood up. The sleep had helped her looks tremendously. She looked ten winters younger.

After what seemed like an hour they had picked out a soft blue muslim gown and some darker blue leggings. The trim on the dress was an almost white, blue lace. Which the color closely matched her slipper shoes. The Lady instructed "Anna" on how to use all of the hygienic tools, their names, and also how often to use them.

While they were relaxing in the chairs, Lady Godfrey's face turned serious. She turned to "Anna" and asked, "Have you started you monthlies yet?" The younger girl blushed and meekly replied no. The Lady seemed pleased with this, "Your just the right age to pull this all off," She smiled, "You even look like my daughter, face features were slightly different. Her eye color was much different, she had doe brown eyes. But your hair and face shape match. Thats more than we could have asked for." She smiled and relaxed in her chair.

"Now Anna, today we are going to start your lessons as a lady."

"Yes ma'am."

"First off, who is the king, queen, and prince?"

"The king is Roald I of Conté and the queen is Lianne of Naxen. I believe the princes name is Johnathan" Everyone in Tortall knew the names of their loved rulers.

"Excellent. Today our focus is on your letters though, you need to not only speak Common well, you need to elegantly be able to write. In three weeks time tutors will be coming. By then you will need a basic understanding in writing, mathematics, and other womanly tasks. First you will learn your letters, then I will assign literature for most subjects."

"Yes ma'am, I understand." Alexandria's nerves were on fire with excitement. Whether it was learning a new wrestling move, or finding a robins' nest, she enjoyed all things new and exciting. She had a thirst for knowledge that knew no bounds. It was not until many years later that it was even dulled a little.

The rest of the day the two spent reading over scripts. Alexandria quickly learned how to be Anna. She picked up the tid-bits and facts of the kingdom that Lady Godfrey chose to tell her. By the end of the day she knew her numbers and letters. She had already written the name "ANNA" on a piece of paper. The handwriting was shaky and large. The Lady assigned her work, she must had to write a list of phrases on paper, until it looked like the example writing. The Lady left, and Alexandria worked until her hand hurt terribly.

She walked over to her bed and her body went limp onto her bed. Almost instantaneously she was asleep. She did dream this night, of spiders and flowers and other meaningless objects. She woke up feeling refreshed. She had another bath, feeling wonderful. She brushed her hair again, which had much fewer knots. _I must brush my hair again before falling asleep this time._ She cleaned her teeth well, and ate breakfast. Food had completely escaped her mind all of yesterday.

She tore into the food, gorging herself like a pig. The food given to a noble lady was much different than a common servant. It was delectable. _I will never skip a meal again! Food like this makes life worth living._ She finished eating and hummed a little tune while practicing her penmanship. The difference was already drastic. _The Lady Godfrey will be pleased!_

Later in the day when the said-woman returned she was pleased. She gave her a list of new words and phrases to memorize and write. Alexandria was kept busy for a few hours while the Lady was gone. The lady came back in with her sewing. She kept Alexandria company, and had idle conversation with her about the state of Tortall.

Two weeks passed and Alexandria was much farther along. She could even multiply. Her schoolwork was to be put on hold today because many gowns had to be fitted for her and her "mother." They went to the seamstress and a large wardrobe was made. Many fanciful gowns were made plans for, and Alexandria had her first measurements taken. The seamstress complimented her thin waist, and Alexandria blushed feeling a surge of pride.

They visited the cobbler, and had a large array of stylish shoes picked out. They were to be fitted to perfection. Afterwards they visited the stables and picked out horses. Alexandria automatically fell in love with a small long legged horse. The horse was a deep russet red, with white stockings and maine. Its tail had a slight curl, and it had a pleasant attitude. While walking the horse she realized it wasn't very smart, it constantly tried to rub its rump up against a tree. The lady made her give up the startling horse for one much more practical. A small to medium sized pony, a crème color with blue roan flecks on its hind quarters. Its coat did not shine as bright, and it didn't have long beautiful hair, but it was a level-headed calm horse. Easy for first time riders, she was a very sweet docile creature. They chose their track and gear well. If the wagon was trapped by snow during the winter, the Lady wanted to be able to escape without frost bite.

Alexandria saw the Lord Godfrey on occasion, and she realized what a gentle man he was. There was a look of ambition on his face, but it was a controlled one. _This man wouldn't grasp for power if it engendered any risk. _

The weeks past in a flash, and by the time the tutors came Alexandria was ready. She had even gotten use to being called Anna. She learned much from her tutors, always with her nose in a book she studied. Her tutors gave good reports about the quick advances the young noblewoman made. Both the Lady and Lord of Godfrey were satisfied that they picked Alexandria. Soon, Alexandria began to feel a warmth whenever she made either of her "parents" smile. Her relations with them were well, and she had not seen or heard of the Lady crying since she agreed to be her daughter. She got used to baths, but she still enjoyed the pleasure and privilege of it.

Weeks passed and she was surprised to see that the leaves had all fallen. On that same day the Lady announced that the next day they were to leave for Corus. The Lord had rode to the west to help protect the ports. "Order must be kept" seemed to be his saying. Alexandria went to bed that night thinking her name was Anna. She dreamt of the wonders of the prince. She had seen a painting of his father, and was astounded by his looks. _I'm going to make a prince fall in love with me. _She fell asleep with a silly smile on her face


	5. A long and boring journey

She awoke that morning to two maids in her room packing her belongings, they smiled cheerfully at her and said "Good morning Lady Anna." The smiles on their faces were genuine and sweet, they truly loved the Lady Anna. _I wonder what she was like. Was she sweet, or are they just good at acting?_ She got out of bed and put on the riding outfit, it consisted of a pair of thick wool legging and a long sleeved tunic. They were in her fiefs colors, a burnt orange and red. She felt very comfortable in these clothes, and liked them more than her dresses. _Once you get past the feeling of being beautiful, the dresses loose their glory. These clothes seem very practice. _

The lady was dressed in riding gear when she entered Anna's room. She had her hair put back in a bun. "Having your hair up will prevent many tangles while riding. Plus, if your hair is too long it can cause hazards." She pulled out a comb that was not already packed and ran it through Anna's hair. She combed it a smiled back at herself through the mirror. She gently pinned braids ofAnna's hair to her scalp. When she was finished it was a very elegant style; Anna felt she might prefer it at all times.

The preparations were finished for their journey, on the way out the Lady stopped and talked to an older stern looking man. "Laurent please do you job well, as you always do." "Why of course my Lady." was the old mans reply. An air of friendship were between the two, they seemed relaxed in each others company. A group a 6 armored men followed them when they walked out the door. Lady Godfrey turned to Anna and told her that they were to keep them safe as guards.

Learning to ride a horse in front of others was difficult. She had to pretend like she knew what she was doing, else she embarrass herself and her Lady. They started out slow, and by the time Anna knew what she was doing, it was time to pick up speed to a light trot. She felt safe on her horse, and began to contemplate its name. Looking at the color of its fur she could call it "Creme" easily. But she had a lot of time, enough time to be creative with names. Names like Milk, Moonlight, and Bride came to mind. She kept going back to Milk, but it seemed such an ugly name. She decided to call her Bride, but with a twist. She would spell it Bryd. Then she changed her mind. Bryd made her think of birds, then she thought of pigeons and doves. Doves made her think of peace. Peace made her think of the lily. She chose Lily. And the name resinated with her well, she loved the name for her horse.

Lily was a comfortable horse to ride, just as her Lady had promised. The ride went well, and before she knew it they had not only stopped for lunch, but had came to a small village that was along the way. She was too tired by the time they arrived to read the sign of the Inn. She fell asleep without remembering how she made it to her bed. The next day she woke rather early. She bathed and walked down to the serving quarters, and ate a large breakfast. She consumed boiled eggs, ham, cooked oats, a large dinner roll, and two apples. Her belly felt like it was bulging, she loosened the tie around her tunic. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she realized a young woman was watching her. Wait, a _few_ young women were watching her

She pretended nothing happened as she walked by. But in reality, she was paying strict attention. The were all giggling, and she heard a little of what one said to another, "..thought nobles were supposed to be.." And the other giggled and whispered it to another girl, who then squealed. Anna never felt so embarrassed in her life. She walked to her room and buried her head into her pillow and yelled.

It did not take long to start up again, and today Anna decided just to enjoy the scenery. She looked at the ancient trees, the crisp blue sky, and the green lush grass. Her mind went into a daydream.

_She stood in a meadow dressed in a formal gown. In her hand she had a sword, it glistened in the sun. She knew how to use it, but she couldn't. A battle was going on, men were yelling and fighting everywhere. She stood in the middle of the mess shocked by the violence. She saw a large mean looking man, he had a limp. She went to attack him, she stepped towards him and raised her sword. A giggle stopped her in her tracks. She looked over and saw the same girls sitting in the grass laughing at her failure at being a lady. She spent too long staring at them, and the limping man raised an axe above her head ready to swing down._

She woke with such a startle that she nearly fell off her saddle. It was a miracle she didn't. The day dream seemed stupid now that she was free from it, but she still felt very concerned about it. The company stopped for a rest and lunch, they ate bread, grapes, meat, and cheese. The soldiers were quiet, and the Lady wasn't agreeable with riding. She looked unhappy and tired, the men looked distant. Anna decided to be very quiet for her lunch, she asked only about when they would arrive in Corus. They would arrive tonight, though very late.

They set back out on the road, and as the sun set Anna became increasingly tired. It was dark when they reached the walls of Corus. She could not see much, the torchlight sent erie and sketchy shadows dancing. Anna was never upset by the dark until now. She felt creeped out, and highly visible.

The ride up to the palace was long and dark. When they reached the castle, few servants were awake to carry their bags to their rooms. It seemed to take forever. Anna fell asleep before her servant was finished brining in her luggage. Her bed was soft and that night she drooled on her pillow.


	6. An exciting morning

As the sun rose to shine on Corus, Anna's eyes fluttered open. She looked around at her lodging, the room was spacious. _The ceilings are so high and there are many windows, winter may be cold._ She sat up in bed letting the covers slide down to her lap, the air was much warmer than expected. There was a knock on her door, "Lady Anna, may I come in?"

"Sure, but please tell me your name first." Anna was a little uncomfortable, so she raised her sheets to cover her chest also.

"I am a servant, my name is Isabella." There was the noise of a key unlocking a door, then the door gently opened. The lady smiled at Anna, "I will be coming in the mornings everyday to tend to the fireplace. As a resident of the castle the Crown has provided me. My job is to clean your privy, and to do small things like sweep the floor. It is not my job to keep your things in order, please understand that Miss." She gave another smile to Anna and begun her work.

After five more minutes Anna decided to get out of bed, she stretched. The servant was busy cleaning and Anna was busy examining her closet, when another knock came on the door. Anna walked to the door, "Who is it?"

"It is your mother dear, let me in." Anna opened the door and saw her "mother." She was dressed beautifully. The gown, she knew, was no where near her finest, and it was not formal. But there was a certain grace in the way the fabric fell, _Those old women are wonderful seamstresses!_ Anna smiled at the conversation she had with them, while she was still known as Alexandria. They had told her about the Lord's boys. _Boys. Oh Goddess, they have sons. Sons who will know i'm not their daughter._ Anna stiffened. _But the Lord would have taken care of it, I wish I could ask the Lady right now. But there are ears around us, she said that there will be very seldom moments that we could talk quietly. "The castle has ears in between every flagstone – and gossip travels fast."_

Anna calmed down, there was no reason to doubt they had taken care of everything. She looked at the Lady leafing through the clothing. "You see, though this day is not one for wearing a formal gown, it is still your first day here. You want a positive impression, before the end of the day the entire castle will have sneaked a peak at you."

Anna came over to look at what the Lady had picked out. An elegant yet plain dress. The beauty was not in ornaments, merely just the fine craftsman ship of the dress. It was a soft, yet vibrant, blue; the trim was slightly darker. The neckline was very modest, but the corset looked like it would line every curve on Anna's body perfectly. The dress gave off an impression of modesty, innocence, and most of all beauty. Looking at the dress Anna felt a surge of pride, so did Lady Godfrey.

"Go take a bath Anna, I will set out your shoes and stalkings. We will clean every bit of you up, I even had a complex hairstyle in mind." She turned to the maid Isabella, "Is there hot water in the bathtub?"

"Yes M'lady."

"Good, now Anna get ready. Take your time." The lady turned back to the closet and got to work. The maid continued her work, and Anna walked into the bathroom. She slid of her gown and went to town cleaning her hair, face, and every inch of her body.

She dried her body and hair, she walked out of the privy with only a towel wrapped around her. Isabella walked past her to work on the room. She saw the gown had been laid out, amongst other things. It took a painstakingly long time to get dressed, the Lady was patient with her though. After she had the gown on she was commanded to sit on a stool. The lady worked on her hair, there was much tugging and pulling and pain. The Lady handed her a mirror to view the hairstyle.

Anna looked at her hair, and was horrified. It looked terrible, there was no doubt about it. Every strand of her hair was in a braid. There were about 10 braids, all of them thick, fishtail braids. She looked at the Lady, seeing the look of horror on her face (which probably matched Anna's.) With an unspoken agreement the Lady undid her hair.

"I swear Anna, it looked good on the Copper Island girl I saw it on." Anna nodded.

After the complex horrifying braids were undone, Anna's normally wavy hair was almost curly. The lady braided two, medium sized braids, one on each temple. She used them to pull back the rest of Anna's hair away from her face, and tied the two braids together in the back. It was very simple, it suited Anna. They put away the mess, reorganized the clothes, and then walked to the mirror.

Anna looked stunning, and so did her "mother." Because they had gotten ready so early, it was breakfast time now.

They walked into the dining room and the rooms noise level didn't change. There was no universal hush like Anna expected. The looked at some of the people in the room, there were a few older looking boys she might like to talk to. She saw a flash of red out of the corner of her eye, and then a cat slinking out of the room.

She looked to the other side of the mess hall, and saw the ladies. Many of them looked just as good as Anna, some were ugly, some were quite pudgy, while others looked like a painting. Her eyes caught the most elegant beauty. She nudged Lady Godfrey, "Who's that?" she asked in a hoarse whisper.

"Lady Delilah."

"Wheres she from?"

"She is a princess of the Copper Islands, be cautious of her. I have heard a thing or two about her going-ons."

Anna nodded her head and made her eyes avoid the girl. She couldn't help sneaking glances though, Lady Delilah shone almost. All of the prettiest ladies seemed to sit next to her, fawning at her every word.

Anna got her breakfast, ate it without incident, and went to walk out of the room. She felt a hand tap her shoulder.

A large boy with chestnut hair and eyes looked down on her. He gave her a welcoming smile, "Hello, I'd be glad to be the first to welcome you to the palace. What's your name?"

Anna suddenly felt very shy, besides the Lord she had never spoken to a male Noble. "Anna of Godfrey. Im here to spend my winter at the palace before I attend school."

The big lad's friends were calling him back to the table, he turned to them and back to Anna, "I'm sorry but I must leave, it was nice meeting you Anna of Godfrey." And as an afterthought he turned around and said "I am Gary of Naxen."

Anna felt very, very shy. She caught people watching her out of the corner of their eyes. She had finally been noticed.


	7. Life at Court

The day went without incident, Anna had met many people in such a short time. She found that she had absolutely no ability to remember names; she could visualize the new acquaintances face, but no name surfaced. Anna began to grow bored of the forced, "Hello nice to meet you I'm: .." chatter. She managed to appear to be sincerely interested, and politely held appropriate conversations.

At the most polite time possible, she excused herself to the privy. She walked down the nearest hallway exhausted from conversation. She sighed and leaned up against a decorated pillar. She heart the soft pat of light quick feet on the stones. She raised her eyes in time to see a red hair boy. He had fair, flawless skin, and clear purple eyes. Anna's heart started beating, she said quietly, "H-Hello.."

The boy didn't stop for a moment and walked by like nothing happened. That was all it took to make this boy the irresistible dream of her heart. When the thin boy walked away Anna's breath stopped for a minute. She had spent too much time in the hallway and walked back towards the double door, smitten.

Her mother looked at her with an eyebrow raised, "You look like you've seen a ghost. Are you okay dear?"

"Yes mu'um" she said and kept her head down to conceal her blush. She composed herself and look back up and the collection of ladies trying to meet her.

The next day she got up, met a dozen other people, and went to bed. The day after that was the same. Every cluster of people she met, she hoped she would see the fire head again.

A celebration was being held by King Roald and Queen Lianna, and Anna was to attend. She had learned court manners at an incredible speed, she was equal in learning as most of the court ladies. After getting ready in an mildly elaborate gown, she and her adopted mother walked from their rooms. Lady Godfrey's room was right down the hall, she could see her door from her doorstep. They were walking solo to the party when they ran into a group of girls Anna had met before.

Her mother perked up, and nudged her to put a smile on her face. "Hello Anna" a light brown headed girl said. She had a straight long nose and eyebrows like tiny half moons. Everything about her seemed elongated. She was beautiful in a way, like a sparrow. Her gown was light blue and it did wonder for her pale blue eyes.

"Hello," Anna said with a minimal smile.

Lady Godfrey looked at the girl. "Hello, Francisca of Sparrowhawk"

Anna nearly fell on the floor laughing, _SO thats why I thought she looked like a damn bird! Ah ha ha._ She kept her face composed the entire time, but had to fake a cough.

Francisca looked puzzled and smiled, probably from uneasiness. The other girls walked up and exchanged greetings. Anna managed to remember half their names, her mother seemed to drill her on names and rank. Another memorable girl was Torimel, from some fief with mountain in the name. Torimel gained Anna's attention from her startling looks. Her lips were pink like roses against her pale skin._ Paler, and fairer than the fire headed boy's complexion._ Her hair was closer to white than blonde, and her eyes could be compared to bright sapphires.. This girl was pretty, and her body was better than average. Her pale blue gown, almost similar to Francisca's, made her look like an iced beauty.

The girls walked with Anna and the Lady Godfrey to the party, and they kept near them to mingle during the party.

Francisca turned to Anna and Lady Godfrey. "Why must you homeschool Anna? I know your fief is close and I know you are very close, BUT i'd love to see more of her."

The Lady Godfathers face tightened, "Anna has completed all the training she needs to be a lady! Maybe another year, but some things can only be taught in court."

Francisca looked sad, "Ahh, well, you can always have private tutors come to you in Corus."

"That is true Francisca." The Lady Godfrey looked calm, but Anna could tell she was very annoyed.

Anna took Francisca by the hand and suggested they get some punch. While on the way she ran into that young squire. He was very attractive, and he had the keenest look in his eyes. He seemed very smart, just by looks.

"Hello! Nice to see you here, and who are you?" He said smiling at Francisca.

"Francisca of Sparrowhawk"

"Ah, nice to meet you, I'm Gary of Naxen."_ Thats his name!_ Anna was so relieved to know his name, she had forgotten his name. He continued, "Would either of you wish to meet my friends?"

Francisca looked like she would swoon, so Anna spoke for them both. "Yes, please." She gave him a warm smile, and saw his ears redden.

Anna ignored this flirtation and walked with Gary, Francisca leaning half her weight on Anna's shoulder. Gary led them to a group of boys, squires to be right. The red haired boy was there. Anna's eyes were glued on him. He wasn't even looking towards her, his eyes were fixated on a handsome black haired boy.

The prince.

Anna nearly swooned herself. She say Gary scowl and three other boys chuckle. The prince, Johnathan, looked at her, his eyes twinkling. He smiled and his bright white teeth shone, Anna curtsied to him and said "Your honor."

"You mustn't be so formal." She nodded her head. Between Gary and the Prince, she was introduced to everyone. The red haired boy was named Alan. He was dreamy. But next to the Prince, Anna had no idea where to look. Even the sexy catlike dark skinned lad was catching her eye. She made polite conversation, joked about forgetting names, and made a good impression. She turned to leave with Gary tried to pat her shoulder. Instead his hand rested on her bosom, and patted it twice.

She turned red. Everyone looking turned red, and Francisca looked like her eye balls would pop out. What only made it more awkward was Gary's reaction. His heavy hand stayed where it was, his entire body red and an eye twitching. Anna yelped and ran away, dragging Francisca with her. Her first sexual experience was in front of every future knight in Tortall!

She found her mother, told her the story, and watched her stifle a laugh.

By the time Anna went back to her room a letter was slipped under her door. It was from Gary.

Lady Anna,

Please excuse me for my intrusion, I meant not for that incident to happen.

Please forgive me,

Gary of Naxen.

His handwriting was very nice, and Anna appreciated the thought. But the fact that it happened in front of the Prince and Alan made it a nightmare. She pushed the horror from her mind and fell asleep. That night she dreamt of princes and fire-heads.

The next morning was uneventful, but now she knew what she wanted to do. While walking through the castle, Anna asked the ladies to show her the pages in squires who were practicing. They walked towards the yards, and Anna saw the fire head sparring. He was fast and flexible, sitting in the grass a safe distance away was a sleek black cat.

They watched the match and Anna was inspired herself to try sparring. She knew it wasn't right, but fighting made her blood boil. The boy fighting with Alan was much worse, and after a few minutes his sword splintered and tore his skin. He bled a little, but otherwise showed to hint of an injury.

After watching for an hour, the other young women grew bored. Not to cause a scene Anna went along with them and spent the rest of the day dreaming about the squires.

After asking a few questions she found that Alan was becoming a squire. She found the Prince and the other boys were a year older, and already Squires. She asked questions about them all, making sure not to seem to interested in any one of them. There were many young men at court, some from the countries from the north and a few from Carthak.

Many full grown men were looking for young wives too, and it was creepy, but many older men were looking for young wives. Prospects were good for Anna, but the goal was not to get her married.

Lady Godfrey had the Duke Baird scheduled to see her tomorrow. He would check to see if she had the Gift, and he would find much more. They had no idea how strong Anna's gift was, but accidental magic happened to her as a child. After the Lady Godfrey described it, odd happenings, many memories popped into Anna's head. They had great expectations for Anna, and she was very worried that they would be disappointed.

Anna went to bed an worried about the next day


	8. Finally getting somewhere

After tossing and turning for the majority of the night, Anna finally passed into a deep sleep. The clouds were orange and a cat sat with her offering marmalade.

_Hello Anna._ Hello Mr. Cat. The deep musical voice chuckled._ I see you've met Alanna._ Alanna? _You Know her as Alan._ Oh, hes hot.. _Hrmmm.. you like Alan? _Got a thing for red heads.. The cat chuckled again and walked over to her. She saw they were sitting on a mountain floating over the orange clouds. The entire being of this place felt orange. _Dear Anna, will you be friends with Alanna?_ At this request Anna frowned. Her thoughts seemed so slow even though everything around her moved so fast. _Friends? _Yes, friends. Alan needs friends, a friend who is a girl. _Okay.._

Anna woke up with a feeling that she was dream last night playing over and over in her head, the sensory details half forgotten. _Alan needs a friend. Thats all i'm sure of. Why would I dream such a thing, i'm merely a commoner. Theres no way the gods or any other being would waste their time on me, I am not one of the blessed. _Anna looked down upon her finely embroidered dress. _Maybe I am blessed. I was born a commoner but rose to this position, it never occurred to me, but this could be the work of the gods._

She sat down and opened up a hand sewn scripture, which was painstakingly done by the women devoted to the goddess. It was a hand painted collection of the world's tales, a man by the name of Garold of Witherspeake years ago traveled the world and took note of the local tales in each area; he handed his notes over to the goddess's women and they created a dozen books or so.

Besides her love of stories, Anna wanted to see if her story was like any in the book. She turned to the subheading of tricks, and found one named "Hair of Gold" and turned to it. She had heard many of the tales already, and this one was new to her. One of the original dozen copies of the book was at the library, and she had been allowed to borrow it. Many stories had been taken out or reworded in the later copies. She looked at the picture and saw in the picture, a blond girl sitting on a stone weeping.

After reading the story Anna realized that the gods may sacrifice a life to prove a point. It filled her with fear, but also she was also relieved. No god had showed itself to her, only a cat in her dreams. She spent time flipping through a few more stories, until her adopted mother walked in.

"Good morning Anna, our appointment for your gift screening with the Duke Baird is soon. He owed me a personal favor once, so we are very lucky to have such a man check on you." Anna could the thickness in Lady Godfrey's description of the man, the Lady was faking her cheeriness. She heard rumors that the Duke could hear even through the walls. Even if he couldn't, the palace was a dangerous place to talk about mages. Sometimes the servants worked so quietly that you forgot they were, and they never forgot where they were. Servants were the main purveyors of gossip in the castle.

Anna was ready already to see the Duke, she was nervous and after her orange dream she woke up before the sun hand risen. She closed the book and stood up, her mother looked over her gown and ensemble and gave the O.K. They briskly walked towards the Duke's station, politely greeting people on the way. Many people seemed to want to talk to them.

The people at court were showy, shallow, and usually egotistic. There were a few good souls, but they were older and had checked out of court life. Anna had met a kind gentlemen named Sir Meyels, who taught one of the pages classes. Many people were kind, but others seemed to avoid Anna and her mother like the plague. When she asked her mother about this, all she said was "the curse" and sighed. Anna payed more attention to the people fleeing her family, and realized they were all mage families. She inquired to her mother again, her mother told Anna that the curse was believed to be contagious, and it was shameful for a mage to talk to the Godfrey line.

She went on telling the story about how the family received the curse. Anna's great-grandfather had fabled in very dark magic, allegedly, and after that day no member in the immediate family has been able to receive the gift. A mystery god, or goddess, had locked the power flowing through their family line.

"Mother, is the Duke scared of us?"

"No dear, he is a sweet man who doesn't discriminate. He is also not stupid enough to believe in the curse, or that it is even contagious."

With that ending to the conversation, the arrived at the Duke's door. The Lady Godfrey knocked at the door and they heard footsteps. He opened the door and gave them a smile.

"Hello Anna of Godfrey and Lady of Godfrey, are you coming for the appointment?"

The Lady Godfrey and Anna curtsied to the Duke and said the polite responses, including "yes".

"Why have you not had her tested before?" He asked in a quizzical voice. Anna loved this man's voice, it was soothing.

"Well, considering our boys had no gift, nor any of our family for generations, I assumed she would neither have the Gift." The Lady had planned this conversation and had it rehearsed before they had left Meade.

The Duke laid his eyes on Anna, "Why do you take your daughter to the be tested now, wouldn't you have wished to know earlier?"

"Well, My Grace, she has been having strange occurrences since we came to the palace. I assume the magery is rubbing off on her" The Lady smiled at the Duke, and he smiled back assuming she was an idiot. _Mother did a great job choosing her words, now the Duke thinks shes a dolt. Too stupid to be lying.. ha ha, magic doesn't rub off on people._

"Now dear, this will only take a moment." The Duke was speaking to Anna, and strode over to where she was not sitting. He crouched and laid his hands over her forearm. His gift began to glow and she felt a stirring in her navel. As if it were a thick potato stew being stirred.

She began to shimmer also, a very light, pale pink. The Duke smiled and she could see The Lady moving joyfully out of the corner of her eye. _This must mean I have the gift._ She didn't know much, except that the tension in the room dropped, the tension she didn't even know was there.

The Duke even embraced the Lady Godfrey. He smiled at both of them, "I'm afraid everyone was mistaken about your family." The sparrow tracks on the corner of his eyes deepened as he smiled more. He turned to Anna and beamed. "You, Lady Anna, have quite a strong Gift. As is common for your lineage. Go celebrate with your mother today, but someday soon you should consider training. Its a waste for such power to wasted." He waved them out and started reading some papers on his desk.

The Lady Godfrey stood Anna up, and they both walked out of the room. Anna's legs were weak and she felt confused.

"What just happened?"

The Lady said rather loudly, "You have the Gift." People started looking at them and whispering

"We already knew that."

"I guess you don't understand. YOU have magic, you Anna Godfrey of Meade. Our family is not cursed, it is blessed." She continued walking at a brisk pace, spreading the news to all people she considered friend.

Anna looked at her adopted mother and thought not for the first time that she was mental. _She actually thinks i'm her daughter.. _Anna was torn between reminding her or not, but she decided reminding her would only put them in danger of being caught and hurt the older woman's feelings. _Better that nut-job be joyous and assume i'm her daughter than her crying for another year and being half insane._

When she and her mother were walked to lunch by a group of other ladies, there were no longer cold stares and unfamiliar faces scattered in the crowd. They gathered their meal and were invited to sit by many people. Her mother chose a group of elitist older women, and Anna chose to sit next to the beauties she had envied earlier.

Her mother had warned her against sitting next to Delilah, but she just couldn't help the idea of getting to know such an icon. She quickly became bored of their conversation, and Delilah's constant putting down. She was about to stand up when she heard a name said that seemed to rule her life, "Alan of Trebound." The other girls were giggling.

A sandy haired beauty with an accent was laughing the hardest, "You mean, you, Delilah, the prettiest girl in court, you like Alan of Trebound?" Her laugh soon turned into a cackle. The other girls were running out of breath. Delilah was taking her time buttering a role waiting for the laughing to stop.

When all the other girls, red faced and mascara running, turned to her. Delilah raised an eyebrow, "Ladies, ladies, fix yourselves. The requirements for sitting here involve being pretty." She gave the other girls some time to fix their appearances. Through the entire conversation Anna hadn't even cracked a smile.

The Lady Delilah looked at them all and gave her best holier-than-though face and continued. "No, I do not like Alan of Trebound. He is cute, but like a child or brother way. I like Prince Johnathan." The other ladies cooed over the name. "He is my goal, I merely dance with Alan when I can. Alan never dances and isn't it sweet to give him a chance to with someone as popular as I? Plus..it always lights a fire under Johnathan's arse." At this the other women let out laughing so loud all the other tables went silent and looked at the women.

The girls stopped and straightened themselves out to avoid embarrassment. Anna said goodbye to them, and walked towards her mother. Anna had just experienced her first explanation of the court games, and she really disliked that group of girls. _WHO would take advantage of a friendship to gain a mans favor? _She scoffed and walked to a nice sitting room with her mother while they discussed training possible for her magic.

After what seemed like hour they had come to a decision. Anna would be able to stay at court and a private tutor would teacher her magic. The Lady Godfrey asked the Duke what kind of magic she would be most successful at, he thought for a moment and told her healing. The Lady wanted to Anna to specialize in healing, and Anna liked the idea of being useful.

But in the back of Anna's mind she was not satisfied with it, she wanted to be able to fight, to be the aggressor in the battle and not the one who cleaned up the mess. _But I do have the rest of my life to learn magic, if I master healing first I will be respected as a woman. It will most likely be easier to learn other magics too, no matter what the normal role is for a female mage. _

The meeting was very fruitful, and the Lady Godfrey left Anna free for the evening, because the Lady was trying to get in touch with an array of teachers. She handed Anna a purse and told her she should visit town with friends. She told Anna to take a guard, and under no circumstances get out of sight, because the purse of gold was the least of her motherly fears.

Anna asked the girls she had met from before the party to go, she learned their names also. Besides Francisca and Torimel, 5 other girls were there.

Francisca was the tallest, with her light as a feather build. The second tallest was a olive complexion youth named Ciramel of Southwing, her hair was a dark chocolaty brown and her lips were always painted bright red. She had bright eyes and teeth, her eyes were brown, and her most.. abundant feature were her breasts. When Anna first met her she had a hard time keeping her eyes from being drawn there, they were very magnetic.

Torimel's friend was a stout girl with a large frame, she was thin, but her shoulders and hips were very broad. It get her an exaggerated hourglass figure. She was very sturdy looking, and Anna noticed whenever she stood next to Torimel, Torimel started looking more attractive. The short girl was, ironically, named Tree.

"Tree?" Anna asked in disbelief.

"Yes, my name is Tree, Tree of Arrowpath." Her voice was dry sounding and Anna automatically took a dislike to her.

The other girls were all plain and average, their names Babbitt, Young, and Novella.

The shopping trip was very exciting, and the guard was a female even. Anna realized that she had more gold in her hands than she knew existed before. She purchased many new hair treatments, many interesting and intricate brushes and sets of hair curlers. As far as jewelry went, she bought a silver choker with a emerald embedded in the middle. The girls went to every shop they could, and it was easily midnight by the time they wanted to go home. Everyone had bought more than they could comfortable carry, so they paid for a carriage to take them back. Anna had bought many beginner spell books, most for healing but a few for defensive magic. _Hopefully defensive magic won't offend my mother. I want to slowly ease my interests into magics that aren't traditional for women. _

She was escorted to her room by two guards who helped carry her packages. Her purse was still full it seemed. She went to her bedroom and fell asleep as soon as the guards left and locked her room.


	9. Alan and Anna

The next day the Lady Godfrey left her alone also, and Anna read through the spell books quickly. She learned more about the gift, and started practicing meditation. By the afternoon Anna was starving, she had forgotten to eat that morning. She wore a new hair clip and slippers and strolled out of her room.

In the mess hall her new group of girls called her over, and Anna was fine with them being her friends. They were all sweet girls, and Francisca's light and airy personality was starting to grow on Anna. She had even gotten used to Tree's rough manners.

The three other girls she realized were all cousins. And one was moderately funny, the other two were just friendly in personality. Anna saw with them most of the lunch time, but she walked over to speak to her squire friends.

Prince Johnathan was there along with Alan of Trebound. So was Gary, and a boy named Raoul of Goldenlake. The other boys seemed to fade into the background for the moment. They all had polite chatter and Anna turned to walk away when Gary of Naxen put his hand out and asked her to talk to him in private. Confused, but obliging Anna agreed. She saw the other boys snicker. Except Alan, he seemed to be thinking about something deeply.

When they reached an almost deserted coordinate,Gary turned to her slightly pink.

"I'm sorry I disrespected you."

Anna blushed herself, "Think nothing of it. Everyone at court has already forgotten it.."

Gary turned even redder as he said, "Oh."

Gary's friends were walking by patting each other on the chest teasing Gary. She saw his face turn from embarrassed to agitation. Anna laughed.

"Gary, do not worry!" Anna embarrassed him and walked over to his friends. "You guys are jerks, do you know this?" She smiled at them all, noticing Alan was standing towards the back. The boys all started teasing and talking to Gary about his recent hug, and Anna walked to Alan.

"Hi" She said. She looked at Alan and realized the boy wasn't going to talk to her. "Hello?"

"Lady, hello." The words sounded forced and Alan obviously didn't want to talk to her.

Copying his formality she said, "How are you good sir?"

"Fine."

Anna was starting to get irritated by his aversion to speech when she realized something. This boy was quiet, and he wouldn't speak unless he had something to say. Anna thought for a moment and decided what to talk about. "Umm, Alan, what is your favorite thing about training to be a knight?"

Alan's eye lit up and he thought for a moment. "I like being capable, knowing that I will someday be a champion for justice."

Anna smiled, "Thats what i've always wanted. Well, not exactly championing justice. I like to fight, it makes me feel able."

Alan's face was a complete surprise, "You know how to fight?"

"Not officially, i've never been trained. But when I was younger and had little responsibilities my mother allowed me to play outside. She thought I was picking flowers though, but really I was hitting trees with sticks." At that Alan smiled.

"I was also very excited about fighting, I was excited when I could go to be trained as a knight instead of at the City of the Gods."

"You have the Gift?"

"Yeah.." Alan looked nervous.

"I just found out yesterday I also have the Gift, I'm worried about it."

"The Gift makes me nervous too" Alan gave Anna a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "beginners boys have already left, I need to go. By the way, be nice to Gary. He has a crush on you." Alan smiled and ran off, his small body extremely graceful in-spite of his muscles.

The other girls caught up with Anna and asked her about her talk with the boys. Apparently it was very unheard of for a girl to speak to that group of squires. "They're aloof" One of the girls said. _Maybe they just have better things to do than speak with you_.

Anna said goodbye to the girls, sick of their gossip about couples and break ups. She walked over to her mother's room and knocked on the door. "Who is it?"

"Anna, mother."

The door opened and she walked into her mothers room. "I found your teacher." 

"Oh, who is he?"

"Its a she, actually. She is retired from teaching at the City of Gods. She was a beginners teacher, but she grew bored of it. Shes agreed to teach you, for a price of course. And you already know her husband."

"Oh, who?"

"The Duke, his wife is Elaine of Queenscove. She lives in Corus and will come over to teach you for hours a day. We have not worked out how many yet, it really matters how much you can absorb in one day. But knowing you, she won't have time to sleep!" The Lady looked prideful, and went to her privy to fix her hair. Anna sat in one of the chairs by her window and studied the scenery.

Walking over to Anna the Lady was brushing her hair. "I like you new clip."

"Thank you mother, I bought it with some of the money you gave me. It was a lot of money."

"You deserved it, and I knew you'd spend most of it on spell books – hah!"

"I did! I have yet to spend it all though, only about half of it is left."

"Wow, i've spent that much on slippers before dear."

"Whoa." Anna was amazed by noble spending sometimes. The Lady was the prettiest Anna had ever seen her, everyday the Lady spent happily the more wrinkles seemed to disappear.

"How many spell books did you buy?"

"I bought over a dozen, many of the beginning healer books. You'll have to come see later, I assume i've bought enough for the curriculum. Plus I bought a book or two on defensive magic."

"Are you interested in war mages?" Her mother looked at her thoughtfully, even putting down her brush.

"I am, battles are very interesting."

A frown came across her mothers face. "I myself am not personally offended at girls learning such arts, but many are. Its tradition for a woman to learn to heal, and heal alone." Anna sighed. "But, I will not ban such books from you. You may learn what you wish, but please keep your specialization for healing. The Godfrey name has been tarnished for many years before you came. I want to be completely excepted by the mage community again." Anna understood and promised her mother she would only dabble in the other arts.

Tonight was a ball so Anna excused herself to go to her room. She called a servant up to fetch her warm water, and started picking out her dress. There were many types of parties, some were very informal, but this one was not. It was the third most dressy feast of the year, so Anna chose her 5th best gown. The Lady had supplied her with so many dresses that Anna's best dress would be even more elaborate than a princesses on her wedding day. The Godfrey treasury was massive, and they even owned Raven Armory.

Anna had missed celebrating the Midwinter festival with her male friends, but next year she planned to give the prince a short sword for his gift. She had asked her mother, and the Lady Godfrey thought it was a great idea to be on the good-side of a future king. Anna also wanted to give Alan a dagger for christmas. The Lady Godfrey knew her daughter had a crush on the boy, so she allowed it also.

Anna took a soak, and kept up on all her hygienic duties. She waited until her mother came over to get dressed though. The intricacy of this garment overwhelmed Anna. They called in two servants to assist. When both mother and daughter were dressed they made sure their hair styles complimented each other. Anna's dress was a pale rose color, and her mothers was a dark burgundy. They had both curled their hair the night before, and Anna wore no make up. Her mother's face seemed plastered with it, so Anna put on a pink, light color of lip stain. They walked out of the room, their fancy gowns trailing the flagstone.

This party was more of a sit down than anything else. The king and queen were lenient with seating this time, and everyone chose where they sat. Anna and her mother chose a seat next to some stuffy looking nobles, and after what seemed like ages Anna was allowed to go elsewhere. She walked over to her squire friends, who all were busy stuffing their faces.

Gary was making a joke and everyone was laughing in between bites. As soon as Anna walked up the boys said hi to her and invited her to a seat. She accepted the food, and used a knife and fork at first, she was trying very hard to keep her pink satin gloves clean. After trying to cut the tedious meat for minutes, she gave up, took her gloves off and set them on her lap. That raised Johnathan eyebrow, made Alan look proud of her, and Gary just stared at her.

"What?"

None of the boys said anything, and Anna forgot about it. She picked up the meat with both of her hands as the boys were, and bit into the delicious hunk of beef. Every boy at the table looked at her, sauce all over her painted face, delicate hands gripping a rib, and the carnivorous look in her eye.

This time Anna just ignored them and said, "This is damn delicious." And the boys all chimed in with laughs, realizing this girl was different than most. They started talking again like they had before Anna walked up, making jokes and cursing. Anna was throughly enjoying herself, and she was lost in the conversation when she realized Alan was trying to get her attention.

She positioned herself facing him, "How are you Alan?"

"Very well, don't let your mother or the other nobles see you eat like that. Its suspicious enough with you sitting near us, as it is."

"How so?"

"Most of the other girls only approach us during dances, they seem to shy to talk to the future king." Anna smiled and looked over at the black haired man, "Well he is ruggedly handsome."

Alan rolled his eyes, "YEAH, well still. The other girls don't wish to ruin their image by breaking court rules. As you are now."

"Does it bother anyone?" She asked looking at all the boys, they were now paying attention to Alan and Anna's conversation.

"NO," "Mithros no," And laughs were her answer. She smiled smugly and started talking about the war up north. The conversation flow with the boys was very fun, and she turned back to Alan.

"Thank you for the concern, but I really want to be myself and not pretend to be a delicate lady."

Alan smiled, and then looked forlorn for a moment. The hand cleaning bowl had been presented by the servants a while ago, and Anna and the boys had had cleaned their sauce covered hands off. Abruptly Alan stood up and looked very passionate. "Anna, how about you and I go walk around the courts together?"

Anna's heart skipped a beat and she said yes, trying her hardest not to blush. Her initial love for Alan had passed, but she still grew shy when he spoke to her. She wasn't use to his soft mischievous voice.

Anna and Alan went to leave, but a few of the boys walked out with them, they were curious as to what Alan wanted with a lady. It didn't seem to bother Alan, so Anna went with it.

Alan had lead them to a court yard with a few fake swords, and the boys began to moan and complain. Alan gave them all a red hot glare and they quieted. "Alan, we know your bonkers for fighting, but tonight it a night to celebrate!" The other boys agreed with Gary.

"Well, leave then. See if I care." Alan said, and the other boys snickered at his temper and quieted down.

Alan picked up a sword and walked over to Anna. He handed Anna the sword, and the other boys went quiet. Johnathan spoke up first, "Alan, why did you give a Lady a sword?"

"She would love handling a sword." Anna nodded her head at this. And began running her hand over the scarred wood. Anna thought of tying up her dress to avoid ruining, but it would wrinkle it forever. Anna began to undo her dress when the boys began to get rigid and Gary turned scarlet, "What are YOU doing?" he seemed to yell. Anna was shocked.

"I don't want to ruin this dress.."

Gary was embarrassed beyond embarrassed. He told her to "wait" and he ran off. Alan began to tell Anna about sword fighting went Gary ran back, huffing and puffing. "Put these on, please. I know your room is close." Anna sighed and the squires walked her to her room. She locked the door, just in case. And undid the dress, which is a million times easier than putting it on. She stripped down to her breast band and loincloth and put on the clothing Gary had given her. It was breeches and a tunic.

Within two minutes, Anna walked out and saw the boys talking, they all hushed when they saw her. Gary smiled, "I thought it was preposterous to allow a lady to strip down to her knickers to play sword fight. I asked for Alan's size." He smiled and all the boys chuckled.

They walked back to the courtyard and Anna picked back up the sword. She had never realized how angry the cat-like Alex looked. He spoke up, "Why are we allowing a girl to do this? This is not a woman's place!" The rest of the boys looked taken abac, but seemed to agree. Alan spoke up.

"She mentioned that she would appreciate knowing the fundamentals of swordsmanship, so she can enjoy watching it more." Anna knew this was a quick thought of lie by Alan, but she nodded her head. This seemed to calm Alexander and made the other boys look more relaxed.

For the rest of the night the boys and Alan told her about sword fighting and show Anna moves. She was intrigued by the stances, and the small things. Like having a foot turned inside could ruin your entire fight. The night grew late and boys started walking to their rooms. The last two were Anna and Alan.

Alan offered to walk her to her room, and Anna was thrilled. "Anna, do you wish to know any more about sword fighting?"

"I would love to know how to actually do it."

Alan smiled. "If we can keep this secret from the others, i'd love to help a Lady do what she wants. Especially if it pisses everyone off."

Anna smiled, and they reached her door. She came closer to Alan, and Alan seemed to get panicky. Anna put her arms around Alan and have him a strong hug. "Thanks" she said, and left the boy still stunned outside of her door.

As Anna cleaned up her dress and tidied her room, Alan was walking away with a smile on his face.


	10. A Tunic and Breeches

Hello, I am the writer and creator of "To be a Lady," and I hope you like my O/C Anna. Shes a very sensible girl, and just wanted to be herself. Even though I don't write it, I would like reviews. I just hate it when authors hound their audiences for them. Please criticize even. This is my first writing of any sorts. Appreciate the story! Note: This is takes place as soon as Alan becomes a squire, she is currently Johnathan's squire, Anna just doesn't know everything.

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The next day Anna got ready, and put on a very casual dress. No one would be dressed up after a night like that – half of the castle had a hang over. Before Anna's mother came over, she knocked on the Ladies door. The lady opened it slightly, just enough to allow Anna in. The Lady was a mess, her hair was a rats nest, and she smelled like liquor.

Anna spoke quietly, "morning mother, I wanted to ask your permission for something?"

"Hmm?" She said, tipping a headache powder in her mouth.

"I wish to get some tunics and breeches. I want to be able to exercise and explore outside."

Her mother looked thoughtful, then she looked like thoughts hurt, and said "Sure, do whatever, just leave me a lone."

Anna smiled and kissed her mothers painful head, and walked towards the castle's seamstress room. She knocked on the door and an "okay" was given.

She walked in and saw a bunch of old and young women at work. "Hello, where may I find the woman who make breeches and tunics?"

There was a silence in the room and many women gave Anna a stupid look. They directed her to the place the room across the hall and Anna thanked them. Silently calling them names in her head, _The same names those squires taught my last night._

She had her measurements done by a perplexed tailor, and was given some clothes already made to her size. When the man asked her why she needed this, she told him she wished to exercise. He seemed to believe this, and Anna walked to her room with her new addition to the wardrobe.

She spent a few hours reading her mage books, and then walked out for lunch. She sat with her female friends for the majority of the time, then towards the end walked over and greeted her squires. Raoul had a minor cut on his arm, and Anna was itching to try her gift for the first time. She tapped on his shoulder.

"Hey Raoul, may I see that cut?"

"Yeah, sure." She saw the put was barely skin deep, and worked up her courage to ask.

"May I please try to fix it? I just discovered my Gift, and I would love to try it for the first time." The big squire smiled at her and nodded his head.

Anna felt the power in her, and did as the book said. Her finger tips began to glow barely, and the cut healed itself. The simplicity of it made Anna giddy, she loved the feeling of it, the power inside of her stirring.

Raoul thanked her and the boys set off towards their classes, or whatever knight training they had to do. Feeling excited, Anna asked the girls if they would like to visit the city again, they were all ecstatic.

Anna grabbed her purse and they left, the same female guard accompanied them. Anna and other girls went to mainly book stores, and Anna bought spell books that actually explained how to heal. The ones she had bought before were over the theory of healing, the ethics of healing, and the general rules of healing. Anna realized how many books were now in her possession, she had more than her current bookcase had room for. Women were not expected to read much, but now that she was a mage student she would need her own personal library eventually. She asked the girls if they could go to a furniture store, and they all seemed excited. She purchased a bookcase, which would be delivered to the palace for her later. One of the other girls, Torimel, bought a chest to keep shoes and linens.

They went to a shady looking store deeper in the city, and each of the girls seemed nervous. Anna and her bird friend walked in together, and looked at all the magical things to buy. Some were illusions to make your hair different colors, others were to shrink feet, and after a minute Anna grew bored of the illusions shop. She went into the darker corner and saw something of interest. It was a book that explained how to make the illusions she was seeing, and many more. Anna purchased that book, and the ladies all wanted to go to a lighter atmosphere.

The numerous clothing shops were bright and cheery, and Anna bought loincloths more suitable for running in, and breast bands that would keep her breasts from bouncing around. Many of the girls thought it was strange, but said nothing. They went back to the castle and said their good-byes.

Anna went inside and began reading her illusion book, the magic was very advanced, but Anna was excited to try it. All her attempts failed, her hair changed to a darker shade, but thats all that happened. She changed it back in time to go to bed.

The next day Anna didn't do any magic. She wanted to be refreshed for the next day when the teacher would be coming. So she brought her magic books with her everywhere, reading them all day. The squires asked her some questions about what she bought, and she agreed to let Johnathan borrow her illusions book.

Anna went to bed early that day, by order of her mother, and woke up on time. She got ready and had her room spotless. The teacher came in directly after lunch and introduced herself. She was aged beautifully, her face retaining a youthful glow. The woman was pregnant, and said that she was happy to teach her until she had the child.

"What are you going to name him?"

"I have no clue" She said with a smile, and after the short introductions, it was down to business. The woman made Anna take a quiz to see what she knew, and was impressed by Anna learning.

"I've been reading non-stop for a few days."

She gave Anna a few more books, and gave her reading assignments. After she left, Anna got to reading the assignments. It took her hours, but when she was done she felt like she had a firm foundation in healing magic. She kept reading until she nodded off.

The next day was yet another test on Anna's knowledge, and she taught her accordingly. Another assignment was given, and Anna asked her teacher how long until they would try actual magic.

This brought a puzzled look on to the woman's face. "Maybe in a few weeks, your going through the general reading at an alarming speed. I'll be out of a job in 4 months or so," She smiled. "I was worried I wouldn't be able to go through the basics with you before I had this child, but I guess I was wrong."

She added meditation to her list of homework. Anna went to dinner after completing her reading, and found the squires as tired as always. She told them about their lessons and all the boys seemed mildly interested, they added in things they had learned from their teacher, Johnathan's cousin, a man named Rodger. She handed Johnathan her illusions book before she said good bye, and as she was walking away Alan caught up with her.

"Hey"

"Hey Alan!" She gave him her best smile, it was odd for the reclusive boy to speak to her first

"Me and the guys are going to the city this Saturday, but before that would you like to sword fight with me? You can't tell them, it offends half of my buddies." Anna agreed and they planned a meeting point.

Anna read further and attended more classes. Her meditation had improved dramatically, she could pinpoint her Gift and activate it. Next week her teacher was going to take her to a hospital wing and they would observe healers in action.

When Saturday came around Anna put on breeches and avoided her friends and mother. She and Alan met up, this time Alan's black cat came also. Purring the cat walked by Anna, who felt obligated to pick him up and pet him. The cat indulged in the affection and she saw Alan begin to glare at the cat, almost as if they were having a conversation.

"Your cat is very pretty Alan"

"Thanks.. He is very pleased to know you think that."

"Its very interesting that your eyes match"

Alan looked thoughtful, "it doesn't surprise you?"

"No, why would it? I think its wonderful." They had found a completely deserted training field.

Alan gave her a wooden sword and directed her on stances. Anna and Alan fake fought for a while, they more goofed off than anything. Anna had hit herself in the head with her own sword and Alan was doubled over in laughter. A few other laughs joined in and both Anna and Alan looked up startled.

There sat the prince, Raoul, and Gary. Anna blushed and Alan looked furious.

Before Alan could bite their heads off Raoul lifted up both of his hands and said "wait!" Prince Johnathan stepped up to the plate and decided to explain their stalking to the angry red head.

"Alan, I know your mad. I and the other guys were very curious as to what you were up to, normally you don't go up and talk to ladies. We were hoping to catch you on a date..but this is an entirely different circumstance."

Alan seemed to cool off but still look angry, muttering something about it being none of their business. Anna walked over to Gary and Raoul, "did either of you see me bop myself on the head?"

They both smiled at her, the answer obviously being a yes. Gary indicated towards her forehead, "I think you have a bruise there now, you might want to go see a healer."

"Thank you Gary, but I can fix it myself." She closed her eyes and placed a hand over her forehead. The bruise faded and her face was back to normal, "Thanks for telling my Gary, my mother would have been furious if she knew I had bruised my face. Also, she would want to know why."

"So your parents don't know that you have an interest in fighting?" Prince Johnathan had walked over and added himself to the conversation.

"No they don't, but I don't plan on making it public. Alan was going to keep it secret for me, but now I guess it's not."

Johnathan smiled, his teeth were blindingly white, "We won't tell, right boys?"

Raoul and Gary promised they wouldn't, and the five of them walked towards the castle. They invited Anna to go to town with them, but she denied politely. She wanted to study more and hadn't spoken to her mother much today.

She spent the afternoon studying and spending time with her mother. The next day she was going to observe a hospital setting and take notes on procedures.


	11. A confession

Anna went through the day briskly, she learned how to store different potions and received a list to study. The list contained all common potions, and how to store and mark them for identification.

She spent more time with the squires than her female friends, and Francisca sat with her. The girl was always flirting over Raoul, even though he didn't even seem to know she existed. The guys treated Anna as a friend, and even offered to exercise with her. She and Alan became closer, and short conversations were common among the two.

When Anna found out about their homework time, she joined their study group and spent nearly the entire hour talking to Johnathan about magic. Every time anyone brought up magic Anna noticed Alan getting nervous. After one of the study sessions Anna caught up to Alan as he was walking to his room.

"Hey Alan?"

"Yes?" He asked in a far away voice.

"Why does magic always seem to get you upset?" She asked in the kindest voice she could.

"Well, you always seem to stick your nose in everyones business," Alan said smiling at her, "so I might as well tell you. It makes me nervous; as you know, and everyone else apparently, I have a very strong Gift. Just take a look at Lightning, no one can wield it but me."

Anna thought for a moment, wanting to comfort her dear friend. "I was very nervous at my magic at first." Alan scoffed, "As if, you always have your nose in a spell book!"

"Well, as I said, at first I was nervous. But the more I learned, and the more often I used it, the more..natural it seemed. It didn't seem like a strange entity resting inside me, it was really apart of me. Just a rather alien feeling, thats all. I'm sure if you practiced yours a bit more often, you'd find your own personality in your magic also."

"Yeah, maybe your right. But still, magic is dangerous and I don't understand it a bit."

"I understand. Plus, knowing your personality.. your magic must be quite fiery and stubborn." Anna said smiling at Alan.

For a minute Alan seemed offended, but then his face softened, "I guess I can be a tad bit stubborn at times."

Anna snorted, and Alan laughed at her. Getting flustered Anna turned red and raised her voice, "Alan! If anything stubborn is an understatement. You good sir, are pig-headed!"

They heard laughing behind them, the rest of the group had been watching them this entire time. Alan turned red and stalked off rather quickly.

Anna walked over towards them and saw the price was still having a fit of laughter and the other boys looked amused. Prince Johnathan patted her shoulder, "I thought I was the only one with enough balls to call him that. But I guess i'm wrong, dear you are one funny lady." He and the other boys walked back to their rooms. Anna almost pranced towards her room, realizing what a great day in the library that was.

Anna spent the majority of her time with her male friends, and still managed to keep in touch with her female friends. Her mother didn't disapprove of Anna equaling herself to the boyish men, but she did advise Anna to keep female friends.

It was a Thursday when Anna found out why.

She had received her lunch and sat with her female friends, chatting about boys and whatnot. Then she said her hellos to the boys and after they left she turned around to walk back to her table. Then an apple hit her in the head.

"Ow!" She was rubbing her head to check for bruising. She guessed she wouldn't have any bruises, but her dignity was bruised. She looked up and around to see the culprits. All the other women were quiet looking at Anna, except Delilah's table. There were vicious smiles all around. A blond girl from the table threw another apple at Anna, but Anna dodged it and started walking towards the table.

"What's the meaning of this?"

"Your a slut. A dirty slut."

Anna was shocked and offended, she had never even kissed a boy before. She was thirteen, but she really had no interest in taking lovers. "Why would anyone think of me as a slut?"

"We know why you hang around all of those men. You lift your skirt and spread your legs for each of them!" The girls mouth was snarled and all beauty had gone from her face. All Anna saw was a monster.

Too stunned to speak, Anna began to cry. The girls at the table were giggling and laughing and someone dumped their juice on the front of her dress. Just as Anna was about to run away humiliated, something inside of her snapped.

She got very angry, an red hot temper she had never felt before. She got irate, she got crabby, she got snarky, but never like this. It was like she was in a battle and though she held no sword like Alan, she felt she had something just as sharp - her tongue.

"You little bitch." She said in her best noble tone. She had seen cat fights at the balls and in corridors. But she had never been in one, from watching all the fights she knew one thing, and that was whoever was the meanest and the quickest won.

The girl who spoke to her turned a shade of red. "What did you call me, you slut."

Anna grabbed a fistful of the girls head and drew the girl close to her. She whispered in her ear, quiet enough that only the blond could hear. "If you don't close your trap, bitch I will close it for you. I have a needle in thread with me, and I do say I am terrible at stitching. You'll look like one of the southern tribes shrunken heads when i'm through with you." And after saying that Anna yelled into her ear and threw the girl down onto her food, shoving her face into gravy.

She turned towards all the girls in the room and said in a loud voice, putting as much authority into every word as she could. "This girl knows not what she says, its best not to listen to those slow and soft in the head." And she walked out of the room, all attention on her.

She went to her bedroom and bawled, she hadn't realized how much it hurt her until the anger left. It left her filling hollow and grief stricken. But within minutes there was a knock on her door, "Who is it? Leave me be!"

"Anna, its us." Francisca sounded very worried.

Anna opened the door and saw all of her girl friends standing there. One of the three cousins had a black eye. Anna went over to her and touched it, allowing her gift to heal it as much as possible. It turned to a yellowish green, nearly healed. "What happened?"

The girl gave Anna a brave smile, "After you left the other girls at Delilah's table started talking shit about you. Me and the girls gave them a wallop." As Anna scanned over her friends, she noticed messy hair and ripped clothes.

Crying, Anna embraced each of them saying thank you. Torimel spoke for them all, "No problem. Its what friends do."

By the end of the day all of her male friends had heard about the fight, Anna was certain. The way gossip ran through the castle wall always scared and awed those who the rumor concerned. Anna tried to avoid the boys the best she could, she had never been so embarrassed in her life. The girls were all in Anna's room when she heard a knocking at her door.

"Who is it?"

"Its us." As soon as Anna heard the Prince's voice she regretted answering. He actually sounded upset. Torimel let them in, and Anna was surprised at how much room she had. Everyone was comfortable seated by the time Raoul closed the door.

The Prince looked at Anna and was about to speak when Gary beat him too it. "Anna, we're sorry about that. Its wrong the games girls will play in court. No one really believes any of what she said."

That gave Anna a lot of comfort, her mother had come in earlier to tell her the same thing, but hearing a friend known for honesty saying that convinced her. "Thank you guys, Delilah and her friends can be terrible sometimes." She and Gary exchanged very warm smiles, and Alan came over to pat her on the shoulder. It gave her goosebumps.

"Delilah you say?" Asked the prince, looking unusually pale.

"Yeah, excuse my language, but shes a slut bitch."

Torimel had a wolfish grin on her face, "are those the only two words you know Anna?"

Anna blushed, _They are._ "I hope I won't need to learn any more. Plus, I really can't think of any thing else to describe her as."

That got a few giggles from the girls, but all of the boys looked agitated. She saw Alan smirking at the prince. They conversation after that was pleasant, and many of her female friends made acquaintanceship with the squires. The boys had to leave to do homework, and shortly after her female friends left also.

The next days when Anna went to the mess hall she got glares from half of the women in the room. They were mainly trying to suck up to Delilah, because when Delilah turned her head the women treated Anna as normal. Towards the end of the meal Anna stood up boldly, looking right at Delilah, and sat next to HER boys. They greeted her even more friendly then normal because they picked up her game. Gary even put his arm around her, put stopped after a moment. His face was three shades of red.

That day Anna had planned to work out with Alan, and play sword fight on and off. Anna was a natural at it, but had no practice. She didn't plan on mastering it, or even getting skilled. It was just fun to move fast, to guess others moves, and to pretend a blow could kill her.

Walking back to the castle Anna finally got up her courage. "Alan.."

"Hmm?"

"I like you."

Alan stopped in his tracks, and looked outraged. The black cat, which Anna learned was named Faithful, was hacking. It sounded oddly like laughing.

The minutes ticked by and Alan kept getting more red. Anna couldn't bear it anymore, she turned to run when she heard something finally. "Wait Anna."

Anna turned around, looking at the red squire. "Anna, you don't understand. You just don't!"

Tears overwhelmed Anna's eyes as she ran away to the castle.


	12. HAHAHAHAHA! a misunderstanding

Anna had just closed her door when she heard knocking, it was the prince's voice asking to come in. She didn't want anyone to see her in shame, she did not respond. The prince waited for a few minutes, sighed loudly, and rapped even louder.

"We saw you run in here. You looked crushed!" _WE? _Anna was horrified and wished she could vanish. After a while Anna realized her friends would not give up, and she opened the door. She knew her face when she cried, it was red and blotchy.

The prince didn't seem to mind the snot running down her face as he embraced her. She was too heart broken to find any romance in it. It was just warm and comforting. He gruffly let her go, trying to appear cool still. Gary patted her on the head and sat next to her on the bed. Raoul looked uncomfortable, but when she caught his eye she saw his real intent. He was a friend, comforting a girl.

No one said anything until Anna's breathing calmed. The prince used a calming voice, "what happened Anna? Did another girl bully you?"

Anna blew her nose, wondering if she should say anything. "No, no girl hurt my feelings. A boy did. I confessed to my first love..and he..he.." She didn't need to say anymore. The boys looked uncomfortable knowing what the subject was, but they held fast.

After a minute she decided to finish. "He told me I didn't understand. Which is worse than a 'no,' he assumed I was incapable of understanding how he felt."

Raoul finally spoke up, "that's not what he meant. I'm sure its not, as long as this guy isn't an ass, thats not what he meant. I've said that before, it was because I couldn't imagine keeping a girlfriend and keeping up in my training." The other boys agreed, and Anna felt better. She smiled at them, and thanked each of them. Gary and Raoul left first, leaving Anna alone with Johnathan.

"Who was he?"

Anna stiffened, this was the question she wished to avoid. "He wouldn't want to be named."

"I can keep a secret." The prince looked at her, sincerity in his voice.

"Do you promise? Please never tell anyone. Ever."

He smiled, "never ever."

Anna made sure the door was closed, and turned to Johnathan. "I was walking back to the castle. And we weren't even talking. All of a sudden I told him I liked them. He turned red, didn't even talk for three minutes. I turned away and he said to wait. For a minute I thought he would say yes. Then he said that I didn't understand, and I couldn't take another moment. I ran into my room, and thats when you and the guys found me."

"Im sorry Anna, but what about my original question? I can't asses the question until I know the guy"

"Alan."

Johnathan nearly choked. "AlaN?" His voice went from his sexy low voice to a high shriek. Anna smiled at the voice crack, and Johnathan appeared embarrassed. "Alan, you like Alan? What do you see in ..him, anyway?"

Anna thought for a moment, unable to give any reasons. "I don't know really, I guess. I know this seems silly, but hes like a magnet. Hes small but strong, he speaks so little that when he really talks its important, he drifts off in his own mind. When I get him to come back to the real world I feel special, and he always seems to relate to how I feel."

Johnathan gave her a look that had so much pity in it, Anna almost wanted to slap him. "Anna, i'm sorry but, you really should give up on Alan. He usually runs from girls, and its rare for him to have a female friend. I doubt he will ever date a woman, don't be angry. Don't be mad at him, i'm sure he likes you in his own way, but I cant imagine him taking a lover."

Anna began to cry, all hope of her love vanished. Johnathan calmed her down, he had to leave because of curfew. Anna gave him a kiss on the cheek and thanked him for his comfort. John blushed a little, and told her not to worry about Alan.

Anna's heart repaired quickly, she didn't cry again that night. She was very worried about what to say to Alan, and the next day Anna took all her meals in her room. Her mother had done that since the incident with Delilah's friends. She was surprised when Alan came knocking at her door after dinner.

Anna considered pretending to be away, but she wanted to be okay with the little squire. She opened the door and saw the boy was already blushing. Anna kept the door wide open, but Alan closed it. Anna was about to ask why when Alan seemed to burst into conversation.

"Anna don't be sad. I really can't explain but I can't tell you, there is a reason why but its secret. Its very secret." Alan had managed to say that as quickly as possible, Anna barely made sense of it.

"Alan, its okay. I thought about it for a while and found the answer. Don't worry, I can keep your secret."

Alan turned pale and Anna continued, "You prefer men, don't you?"


	13. An oath

Hello! I've reached 1,000 hits! I don't know if that's good or not, but i'm impressed that even 5 people have read this. toolazytologin, most of the other girls are a bit older, its just no one has really figured out how much younger Anna is. Girls all bloom at different ages, and i'm sure most people assume Anna is a tad bit late. Now she is training to be a mage, her mother hasn't sent her to the convent because she wants to show off the fact that the family curse was false. Anna's almost being used by her family for political reasons, but she thinks it's worth it for the elevated living and chance to learn magic.

* * *

Anna was calm in her guess, she had picked up on the prince's subtle hints. Alan disregarded women, he never danced during the ball, he kept to either men or himself, and Anna herself had seen the boy stare at the prince. Everything made sense to Anna, and it helped her heart break immensely. _He doesn't like you because hes homosexual, not because your inferior or plain _is what she kept telling herself.

"Alan, are you okay?" Anna studied the boy for a second. His wispy red hair outlined his pale face, his purple eyes fixated on her bedpost. He looked like a painting for a second, his expression was pained and critical. _He must be thinking of a lie to trick me. Alan has always been quick. _

She sat down and waited until Alan thought out what to say. Finally Alan seemed to have gathered his wits, "I've been lying to many people Anna, my conscience is guilty and I wonder daily if my friends would still like me if they knew my secret. I'm sure Gary and Raoul would feel uncomfortable with me. The only person i've told is Johnathan, and he found out in an odd way. Don't ask."

Before the boy could keep talking Anna walked up to him and gently hugged him, "It's okay Alan, really. I will be your friend no matter what, we all have our secrets." _Mines much worse than being gay, if anyone learned mine it would cause me to be hung and my family to loose their status and money. _

Alan stepped back from her, he looked undecided. "Anna, its really not what you think. I'm not gay, it's just you don't understand." Instead of freaking out Anna decided just to let the boy explain himself, she took a deep breath and forced her mouth shut. "Anna, your one of my good friends, and I have absolutely no idea how you wormed your way into my life. But I can't trust you or anyone else, not with this. It can get anyone in trouble who knows about it, I don't want you to get hurt."

Anna saw the resignation in the boy's eyes, he wasn't going to tell her his secret. Every capricious element of maturity in her mind wanted her to stop this, to let the boy keep his secret. But her passion for knowledge and curiosity wouldn't relent. "Alan! You can tell me anything; besides, my secret is worse than yours. My secret can get me killed."

Alan looked at her, and she looked at Alan with intensity. He told her to wait, and he ran to his room to grab a book. Anna didn't know that the squire read, but decided if it was important enough to interrupt the situation, then she had best let him get the script. Quickly Alan ran into the room, and began setting a few ingredients out. He was measuring an odd green powder, Anna would have asked but he put his index finger to his lips and indicated for her to keep her trap shut. By the time he began to cast the spell, she was fascinated. After his short chant ended he turned to Anna, "No one will be able to listen to us Anna, if your secret is that important, than we had best be wary."

"Thank you Alan thats very thoughtful. But I am having a hard time being patient, my nerves are shot. What spell was that anyway? Is it powerful?"

"The spell is midlevel. Its a silence barrier, no one will be trying to listen in on our conversation. If they do it will warn us beforehand, so we can be quiet." The boy looked up at her with a huge grin. "I'm really nervous Anna, that's why I grabbed this book. Its one of the oldest from my fiefs library, my brother had packed it for himself and it got mixed into my pack somehow. I didn't think I would need it until now, but I guess reading through it was a good idea."

"The book has many, very powerful spells in it. One that will benefit us today is a blood oath. Do you wish to take an oath with me Anna? It means that you may never tell me secret and I may never tell yours" He read from the book to Anna, "Two with the Gift may use this if a secret so prominent could take a toll." He looked at Anna, "That's all the book tells me."

Anna thought about it, she was concerned that he didn't trust her. But she was also wary of trusting her future to him, she agreed and he seemed relieved. He began working on the spell, while she wrote the oath in a mixture of their blood. After the preliminary work was done they said a chant, and signed their names on the paper. Alan went first, signing his name heavily. After writing he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. Anna looked at his name, and felt a stirring of doubt deep in her gut. Alanna of Trebound was written next to Alexandria Croamwell.

Alan stood up abruptly and took off his tunic, "Anna, my name is Alanna of Trebound. I switched places with my male twin, so that he could be a wizard, and I could be a knight. I am a woman who wishes to gain her shield."

"So, your not gay..?" Anna was stunned, thats all she could say. Her eyes gazed over his, her, figure. A breast band held her meager breasts back. She was thin and muscular, and her torso was so well muscled that her womanly figure was disguised. The young woman turned to Anna and sat next to her. "No.. I'm not gay. I'm a lady, incase you did not notice." Anna could tell Alan, Alanna, was trying to make her smile. But she felt void of emotions.

"Why is your name Alexandria Croamwell?" That startled Anna, she had forgotten why they were there. Her first crush was a woman. And that woman was next to Anna, oddly enough still looking boyish even though she had breasts.

Alan looked at her, and she felt her eyes getting puffy. "Alan, Alanna, my name is Alexandria. I grew up in the town of Meade, I was a servant. I had no status, no family to speak of. The Godfrey's offered to be my family in all but blood. The deal was I become a mage, and they get a daughter back, and proof that he family curse is broken."

Alanna looked at her, "You liar. You're lying to everyone! Your not even nobility!"

Anna didn't have a cap on her emotions, and being yelled at only brought on a fury of anger. "You're a liar! You're lying about who you are. So what if I wasn't born a noble. By the end of my life I will deserve the title, unlike some of these pompous assholes living in this castle!"

Alan still looked enraged, her hair looking like a real flame. After what seemed like ages the storm that was brewing on her face subsided, "I guess we are both liars." The silence was awkward, after the anger had subsided from Anna then she felt like scum for forcing her and..Alanna into this agreement.

Eventually Alanna put on her shirt, and turned to leave. Before she turned the door Anna got up and walked quickly towards her. She wrapped her arms around her friend, "I think it's great that your trying to achieve your goals Alanna."

She felt Alanna stiffen under her, Anna released her from the light embrace. Alanna turned around, and smirked, "Thanks. Let's make up, I need all the friends I can. And if you become as great mage as you say, I might need your help someday." Anna smiled, and they said their good nights.

The next day it was hard to pretend like nothing happened, but it was manageable. Everyone was already use to Anna staring at Alan, so Anna spent most of her time with Alan studying him. He didn't move like a girl, he seemed to have no subtle hints at his true gender.

That day Anna and Alan spent private time together, asking questions about how they pulled off their facades. After hearing about how Alan had overcome all the males at combat, Anna felt a new respect for the guy. Over the next few weeks Alan and Anna became better friends, Alan's cat even allowed Anna to pet him the majority of the time.

What the twosome didn't know is that a rumor had spread about them. Everyone in the castle assumed they were dating, and it wasn't until Raoul told them about the rumor that they realized everyone had been whispering behind their back's. Alan claimed to all her friends that she and Anna weren't a couple. Her face was scarlet red, it almost matched her hair.

Later, Raoul asked Anna about it. "Raoul, we arn't dating. Alan and I just have many things in common."

"Don't we have things in common?"

Anna didn't even understand his jump in subject, so she didn't even try to answer. "I'm sure we do, you and I haven't spent much time together."

"We should."

She smiled, "we should." Raoul had to leave, and she waved him good bye. With her crush gone, Anna had no feelings for anyone. She knew Raoul had a soft spot for her, but he was friendly to most girls. _Maybe I don't need to like a guy, it seems to only be heartbreak and worry._

Just as she thought that a man ran by her, winking at her while he swiftly passed her. He turned around and sent her a flirty smile, his big nose being the second thing Anna noticed. He ducked out of an open window, and ran off towards the gate dodging animals on his way. Guards yelled after him, the tall brown haired man was soon out of sight.

_Who was THAT?_


	14. A plan

After seeing the man go out of sight with guards yelling "thief" after him, Anna just sat and thought for a moment. She had thought castle security was much tighter, _Maybe I should spell my room with protective wards.._ She spaced out and saw that mans face every thirty odd seconds in her mind, and each time the man surfaced her thoughts he became more blurry and forgettable.

By the next morning Anna had forgotten his face, but she could not dismiss the surprise of the rouge, or so the rumors said, invading the castle. True, there were many treasures to steal; but currently unemployment was down. There were minimal homeless, the country was thriving. The need for a rouge was lower than average, he didn't need to pillage the castle.

Today was also the day a new teacher was coming, and her mother was scheduling her magic education. After Anna caught up on her remedial courses, her mother had planned to send her to the City of the Gods. It excited Anna, that is until she found out she would be placed in a class of 9 year olds. Even with her quick learning, she was really only at the level of a child. It wasn't the knowledge that she lacked, it was the practice and control of power. If she gained acceptable control, she could take the tests and advance to her age group.

Her newest teachers Lord Gavin, Master Anselm, and Lady Helene would guide her studies. Lord Gavin was a specialized teacher, he himself did not have the gift, but his subject was lore and magic ethics. Master Anselm was an elderly man, who moved to Corus in old age when he began to muck up spells. He had infinite magical knowledge, but his gift had begun to degenerate with old age. He was a good teacher and age had given him patience.

Her favorite by far was Lady Helene, she specialized in healing magic and field magic. It was rare to find a female teacher, but they were more common in the healing field. What was interesting about her is she also taught rudimentary defensive magic to protect soldiers. Lady Helene was mid-age and had gained little respect in the magical field. Anna's mother had hired her due to need, there were no other similar instructors within three cities.

Classes went by quick, her background knowledge growing every day. She seemed to suck up spells, but she had difficulty preforming. Lady Helene gave her a remedy, she brought Anna to a city hospital to treat commoners. Anna was slightly upset by this, her being a common herself, because they specifically came to the poor part of the city so that if Anna messed up no one would care. Anna tried her hardest, and managed to knit together a hairline fracture. Anna grew tired quickly, but she knew she had to continue to practice in order to harness any of her potential.

Working towards her mage goals allowed her little time with her friends, but on one Sunday the group ran into her while she was unoccupied. They invited her to town, claiming they hadn't spoken for ages..even though they ate together every day.

Anna's eyes moved to Gary and Raoul, and she remembered Francisca's crush on the friendly Raoul. Sometimes Anna got the two boys confused; Raoul was friendly towards her, while Gary had a shy crush. A few days past Anna asked Raoul why he was so open towards her. Raoul told her that he was just wondering why Alan had payed her any attention. He and every other knight-in-training were bewildered by the quiet boy even acknowledging a girl.

Anna agreed to go to the city as long as Francisca could tag along also; when she ran up to the girl and asked her to accompany them Fran's face grew red and she made a shriek. Assuming that was a yes, Anna dragged her friend to the group of boys. It can be noted that Francisca drooled the entire afternoon.

"Is everyone ready to go? No one has forgotten their purse?" Anna got the impression that Prince Johnathan usually took the lead in their exhibitions. When everyone had shown their purse, John asked "And the bathroom breaks?" With this, Raoul ran off and she could see Gary and the Prince snickering.

They set out to the city, with Raoul looking much more content. They stopped by many shops, including an armor store with a piece or two from Raven Armory. All of the boys drooled, for once Francisca fit in. Anna felt very excited about her gifts to the Prince and Alan. She considered giving Raoul and Gary something also, but she didn't know either of them well.

At while after noon Francisca had to return for an event, so she bade them farewell and had a guard escort her to the castle. When she left a glint appeared in the Prince's eye.

"Should we?" He looked at Alan.

Alan shrugged, "if you want."

Now Anna was interested. She perked her ears up and tried to look as eager as possible without begging. The boys huddled in a circle and began to whisper, occasionally sticking their head out to make sure Anna wasn't sneaking up on their discussion. Finally they broke up, each other looking excited. Except for Alan, he seemed more withdrawn than normal.

The Prince walked up to Anna, "we have this friend. He is a very infamous person, but hes kind. You'll like him."

"But to meet him, we must have fake names and such. Call me Johnny, my persona is a merchants son."

The rest of the boys gave their brief backstory and code-names. Finally it was her turn, she got the vibe that she had to make it up, "my name is..Alis. I am a servant in the castle."

The boys all accepted it, and Anna was dressed the part. She and her friends had learned that dressing to fit in made robbery less likely. They had purchased peasant dresses to blend in weeks ago. The boys all lead her to a pub named The Dancing Dove. They lead her to a back table where a brown haired man sat with an attractive woman on each shoulder. Anna immediately recognized his face and the way he constantly looked like he was trying to tease a girl into loving him. She didn't react, "Johnny" had warned her beforehand. But she was still shocked to see this man again.

Johnny introduced her to him, and the Rogue gave her a mock-bow. The boys all drank ale, and Alan sipped on juice. Anna also took juice, commoners' ale had a bad taste to it during this season. The conversation was good, the food was delicious, and the laughter was contagious. They went back to the castle barely making the curfew, immediately disbanding to their rooms.

The next day Anna slept through breakfast, missing her friends departure. Francisca asked what had transpired after she went back to the castle, Anna told her that they went to a pub. At lunch that day Raoul came over and talked to Francisca, making her spazz out. While they chatted about yesterdays purchases, Anna walked over to sit with the Prince, Gary, Alan, and Alex.

Alex had no interest in being her friend since the sword practice incident, and was disgusted by the rumors of Anna and Alan being a couple. While it was denied, he chose to believe they were being dishonorable. And oddly enough so did the rest of court.

Delilah was vexatious to Anna about being friends with the males, Delilah's friends constantly badgered her and made disgusting noises whenever she passed their table. The Prince seemed to ignore this, it all made sense to Anna later when she heard a rumor of him courting Delilah. She spoke to the Lady Godfrey about it, and her mother gave her a bit of wisdom, "a man always follows his penis."

Anna asked Alan about this, they had a deep conversation about being women in a man's world. Then Anna remembered Alan being vexed about meeting the Rouge. She inquired to Alan.

Alan appeared silent, and then he shrugged. "I always considered my friendship with him special. I invited Johnathan to meet him, then John invited our other friends. Now I don't have anything special with him. In his opinion, i'm just an interesting little brother."

Anna never considered Alan jealous of anyone gaining the thief's attention, she knew that that was not something that could be changed. All of a sudden Anna got a great idea.

"Alan?"

"Hmm? I know your up to something. Whenever you say my name as a question, your planning something."

Anna was surprised that Alan analyzed things that much. Before getting sidetracked she decided to give her plan to Alan. "The entire castle assume we are lovers doing lewd practices, and they won't shut up. Correct?"

"Yes, its getting irritating.."

"Well, John knows your a girl. He doesn't know that I know, right?"

"I never told him. Then i'd have to explain why I told you, I have no logical reason to give my biggest secret to a relatively new friend."

"WELL, wanna irk Price Johnathan and make the castle shut up?"

"I'd love to Anna, but I do not see what your getting at. The ball is tonight and I am REQUIRED to go, as soon as your done I need to get ready."

"Alan, what if John thought you were a lesbian?" Alan raised her thin eye brows. "What if we shut the castle up by confirming the rumor. You'd never have to dance with a girl again, because you'd technically already have me to court. It would confirm the idea that your male even more also, especially if they claim we are having sex."

"Your insane."

"Can you imagine the insanity that the Prince will feel at you of all people having a partner? He'd be worried for you, considering I might find out your female. He'd also be surprised you'd do it, date me that is. If you pretend like you really did find me attractive, it'll blow his mind."

"Your insane!"

"I know you want to."

"I do." Anna and Alan exchanged mischievous smiles, shook hands, and planned their elaborate joke. They would strike tonight.


	15. A terrible backlash

After the intensive discussion, the plan was set. They were prepared for all loop-holes and questions. When Anna left the room, she turned around to see Alan's face once more. He looked like he was enjoying the idea of vengeance.

Anna walked up to her mothers door and knocked. She opened the door to find her faux-mother already fully dressed – she no longer needed Anna to help tighten her bodice, since the Lord Godfrey had purchased a serf from Sarian to impress the other nobles - and was applying the last touches to her make up. With her mouth plastered in her now trademark scarlet paint, Anna had to stiffen a giggle. _Oh court fashion.._

"Mother, please may you help me to be ready for the ball tonight?" Anna did everything she could to look like an excited little girl. She put her shoulders back, her hands intertwined behind her back, putting as much emphasis on please as possible.

At her unusual display, the Lady Godfrey raised one drawn on eyebrow. "You stopped going, I thought they made you bored." She closed her door behind Anna. Not wanting to discourage her daughter from attending dances, she changed her tone of voice to one much sweeter and turned to Anna, "but yes my sweet, I would love to assist you. What dress do you think your going to wear? I spent so much on them I was upset by the idea of you not wearing them."

"I was going to ask you about which dress - I will tell you my intentions in a minute when we get to my room." They exited the Lady's suite and crossed the hall, went three doors to the right and unlocked Anna's door. She turned the knob and the antique door gave a click and slowly swung open. Her mother had not been in her room for a while, it had been weeks since Anna attended any functions. Though Anna half expected her mother's response, she still felt nervous at letting the Lady Godfrey into her chambers. The room was a mess beyond messes, though it was clean, it was very disorderly and over stuffed. After the Lady Godfrey glanced at the state of her room she let out a squawk. Then she gained her composure. Then she grew angry.

"Anna! Look at all of these books, Anna! Do you have any room to sleep at night?" She yelled a little more to herself – something about shenanigans - and then shook her head. "How many book shelves are in here..?"

"Eight," Anna was feeling embarrassed by the dishevel that was her room. She have put book shelves in every area she could, making her room feel small and clustered.

"Anna, I was under the assumption that the coin was for feminine things like shoes and skirts.."

"I used it for that also, mother I have a wonderful wardrobe, but I also have bought rare books. One of a kind manuals, and a few of them have limited copies. I really tried hard obtaining a few, they are treasures! The majority of books that I bought were to meant add to the library in Meade; the families books are all advanced, but I needed starter books to start out. I got sick of borrowing from the library, whose magical books were either off-limits, checked out, or reserved. I waited weeks to get a hold of a relatively unpopular book.."

"Oh Anna, you don't need to live like this. You can barely get to your closet. What if, if your a hoarder!"

"A what..?"

"A hoarder! Oh goddess, a lady who had stayed at court for 20 years died recently, they went to clean out her room and found hundreds of dresses and used silverware! I heard a rumor that there was even a dead cat under one of her petticoats."

Anna just stood there, staring at her mother who sounded remarkably like a chicken. Anna then did a gesture, that many many years later would be called a "face-palm." She sighed and put her hands up, took a deep breath, held it in, and released. She made her face serious, drawing together her eye brows to feign intelligence, and looked at her pinheaded mother.

"I am not a hoarder - I just need more room for my studies. An aspiring mage who goes through as much knowledge as I needs room to grow. I'm having a difficult time locating half of my books, and I do feel cramped. I cannot get rid of any of these books due to the fact I will need to look at them for reference in further studies."

"_So your not a HoArDERR?"_

"I am not a hoarder, whatever that really is."

Her mother wiped the sweat off her forehead and was relieved. "Well you should have told me. I know you've been busy with your studies. Anyhow, I will get you moved to a scholar's room. It doesn't cost much more and i'm sure we can get you one very close to here."

"Thank you, i'd much appreciate it. The small library that the rooms come with will be much obliged. But, we have a foremost matter to attend to – the ball. I want to wear my most appealing gown, not necessarily the fanciest or the most costly. I want to look prettier than average today, please." At this her mother's eyebrow rose substantially, but whatever it was that Lady Godfrey thought of Anna's quickly said request, she kept her mouth shut.

They browsed through her closet- which the back of said closet was plastered with books also - until they both agreed upon a pale malachite green. The gown's accents were white, and she had a matching cap with spotted quail feathers. The gown was a sure trend setter, so much so that the Lady Godfrey told Anna that she assumed everyone would stop talking about the old hoarder lady and start gossiping about the new style of dress. Anna did not see how it was different than any she had seen before, but that wasn't the point. When looking into the looking glass Anna saw a very beautiful, sleek, and dare-she-say-it – sexy, young woman. _Step one complete. _

Anna was being escorted by her mother when they ran into her gaggle of friends, all of them talking about fashion. And hoarders. They kept up polite conversation until they got to the party, where her mother left to mingle with friends. The group of girls split up, everyone but Torimel left. Anna considered talking to Torimel, but the constant scorn on her face suggested she wanted to be left alone.

Anna walked up to her boys and winked at Alan. After the of the boys stopped talking, waiting for Anna to either greet them or start up on a story, Alan winked back. They walked towards each other and in one swift, elegant motion they shared what looked like an epic kiss.

There was silence.

After their equally red lips parted, Alan took Anna in his arms and let her go softly. _Step two complete_.

The prince was the first to speak up. He put his arm on Alan's shoulder and tilted the smaller boy's body to face him. "Whats the meaning of this?" his voice was soften and hushed. Anna could see the hidden meaning in his voice, and what seemed odd was the tone of his voice. He didn't sound concerned, he sounded like a hurt lover. Anna was defiantly going to ask Alan about that later.

Alan also seemed to see the hurt tone in his voice because all the determination left her face. Anna saw her knees shake. "Johnathan, I was just considering courting Anna. Do you..disprove?"

"I do."

"Why?"

"You know why!" his voice boomed with emotions, then he looked around and saw that his friends looked more than inquisitive about his sudden outburst. "You know why, your my squire and I don't want your head in the clouds daydreaming about any girls!"

"That doesn't seem to stop you! I hear you and that slut delilah every damn night. Does that distract you John?" Alan's face looked furious. While Alan resembled a fire in looks and character, Johnathan was becoming an ice cold stone.

The entire room was hanging on their every word, and before John could even reply, Alan took Anna's hand and ran out of the room. They turned a corner, and then another until they found themselves in a deserted palace garden.

Alan walked over to a wall, leaned against it and slowly slid to the ground. Anna would not have been able to tell she was crying except that her shoulder trembled.

For the first time in her life, Anna didn't know what to do. Until a minute ago she had no idea Alan loved the Prince. She stood there with either hands to her side limp, just watching. Faithful found them somehow and went over to Alan purring.

Then Faithful turned and looked at her, his striking purple eyes captivating her. _Comfort your friend._

_Mithros! That cat just talked. _As is if the said cat could hear her, it smiled a cats mischevious smile.

_Anna, yes I can talk. That is not the issue now, be a good girl and comfort Alan. _

Not wanting to displease a magical cat, Anna walked over and put her arm around Alan. She didn't know what to do. "Alan, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." her voice was hoarse - but atleast she had stopped crying.

"Why were you crying?"

Alan didn't awnser.

"Alan, do you love the Prince?"

Alan stiffened, "I do not love the Prince. I'm merely on my monthly and the emotions roused me."

"Alan, you love the Prince."

At that, Alan took Anna's arm from around her and turned to Anna. Her normally milky white eyes were red, her pale face was frekled, and her features sugessted she was about to kill someone. "I do not love the Prince. Never speak of this again. Our plan failed! We were going to get the castle to shut up about us, have men stop flirting with you, and make Johnathan realize what an ass hes being."

"You only think Johnathan is an ass because you feel for him. And his whorish acts are causing you pain."

"I do not love the Prince, he is an ass and probably has the latest Scanra sex disease. I could never love someone who says 'I love you' to any girl who will lift her skirt." Whatever else the girls would have said was forever cut off, because the Prince walked out of another door way looking rather insulted.


	16. The creeper prince

A wave of nervous nausea rolled over both of the girls when they say the regal prince with such a demeanor. His hair was disheveled like he had ran through the palace to find them. His face was stone and his eyes blazed and shimmered with electricity. His broad shoulders were perfectly straight, all of his years of learning commanding posture had payed off. Both girls were in awe. His left hand was in a fist, his back was partially to the setting sun, his features were shadowed dangerously.

Alan was stunned beyond stunned. Where he would have normally jumped up and accepted the challenge, he just sat there. All of his energy was invalid due to the shock of having Johnathan walk in on them, he had not been expecting that. But with his will power not left yet, with tears still drying on his face, he looked up to Prince Johnathan. He met him square in the eye. He could only bring himself to meet his eyes and grimace.

Anna was trembling. She had never had any of Alan's fighting spirit and so would defiantly never be able to call upon it in this scenario. She felt like all of her bones were hallow. Her body was locked in place, like some rigamortis corpse trembling. Her eyes were locked on his fist, whose veins she could see pulse.

Prince Johnathan looked like he was about to talk, but before he could possibly accuse them of something Anna spoke up. "W-Why are you listening in on us? How long have you been ease-dropping?" Her voice picked up strength through the sentence, and she could feel a surge of confidence.

She felt like her castle of courage was built on sand. But she knew she had to make Johnathan the bad guy before he condemn them. It was all about timing, and that was something Anna knew about.

The prince recoiled like someone had hit him, "Ease-dropping? You both were slandering me! I am the victim here!"

Anna lifted her eyes from his fist slowly to his shoulder, and then right to his face. She feigned the fighting spirit Alan had, "You deserve slander. You yelled at us both for wishing to court!"

"Court. Hah! That joke - I've been here longer than you think. Long enough to hear that you were both conspiring. 'to teach Johnathan his lesson' as I recall." He was now pacing like a caged lion, he turned to Alan who was still silent, though looking more and more pissed off by Johnathan's attitude. "You! Alan! I thought you were different but your just like every other woman – manipulative! Its a wonder your able to preform as well as most men you filthy woman!"

Anna looked at Alan. She expected from past experiences for Alan to jump up and teach anyone a lesson who denounced his fighting ability because he was short or weak looking. This time Alan sat there, he was down. The fiery side of Alan was gone, he just sat there, eyes baring into Johnathan.

Seconds turned into minutes, Anna staired into the sunset trying to make this awkward shaky feeling go away. She occasionally glanced at Alan, who was still looking at the prince – this time with eyes glazed over.

Finally the prince spoke up again, "I'm sorry Alan. I really am." We walked over to him and tried to get him to stand up. Alan pushed his hands away, looking defeated. Anna stepped up and pushed the Prince away. She stood Alan up, and they walked away never wanting to look back.

It was risky, she knew, but Anna didn't care now. She knew that tommorow was a rest day for Alan, so she brought him to her messy room. She undressed them both into their knickers and they layed together on her bed stairing at the canopy. Alan started to weep silently as Anna was dozing off.

The morning came like most others, except this time Anna woke up to find a cat and a young girl in her bed. Alan's face was puffy from the crying, distorting her features. She layed in her bed, appreciating the warmth.

Last night had been so dramatic, so much had happened with such few words. Anna didn't know how the Prince felt, she didn't know how Alan felt, and worst of all she didn't know how she felt. She and Alan had manipulated the situation, sure. But they were doing it for a just cause - Johnathan needed to be taught a lesson before warts or lesions grew all over his gentals. Delilah was like a rag doll who had been thrown around by every male in the palace. She was fouled.

What if Alan loved the Prince? Then did Alan do this so he could get the Prince to realize the relationship between them? Did Alan know he loved the Prince? And what about the weird situation last night? A prince came raving in, called them bitches, and then tried to get Alan to stand up. It was alien.

Anna had a discusting taste in her mouth, one she wished profusly would go away.

Anna got out of bed and went to get breakfast for them, including what she assumed cats ate. Then she got back Alan was just waking up. "Good morning sleepy head, do you feel better?"

Alan nodded his head. "I do. Last night was crazy. I don't know how you women do it – I wouldn't last a week."

"It is hard, both for the girl experiencing it and her friends. We, as in her friends, have to listen to her blather about the situation all the time. Then we also have to comfort her. Belive me – the list is never ending."

They ate breakfast and everything was fine, they got dressed and everything was fine. Then for the first time Alan had an intrest in sewing, they sat by the window and chattered about knighting coustoms in other countries all the while sewing butterflys onto napkins.

Both were waiting, both knew the time would come. It came much later than either expected, a short time after noon the door sounded with rapping. Anna opened the door and let the prince in. He looked terrible. His hair was messy, his face was caked with grease and sweat, his breath fowl.

"I'm sorry to both of you for my manner. Emotions get out of hand and mean things are said."

Alan then did something neither of them expected. She actually excepted the apology. "Im sorry for embaressing you in court. And about our plan. I just needed you to realize how disgusting your relationship with Delilah is.."

"Thats not it Alan. We both know it." He smoothed his greasy hair back and winked a her. "Your in love with me."

Anna could almost see the bile rising in Alans throat to his mouth. _I think I want to vomit also.._


	17. unspeakable horrors

They were both stunned silent when suddenly the Prince fell over in his hair. They could both see the dark rings under his eyes and the dried tears on his face. Now close to him, the alcohol was stronger also. And possibly some piss, which was hopefully his own.

"Gross." Alan looked repulsed.

"What do we do?"

"I have no idea."

The girls both stepped back to look at the drunken prince, neither wanting to touch his soiled body. They heard a terrible noise in his pants. Both girls cringed.

Anna could not mask the terror on her face, she would never touch that man in this state. His smell was fouling up the room in a way that Anna believed would never come out of the walls. At least_ I won't be living here much longer. _"Alan, shouldn't we call some servant?"

Alan looked thoughtful while shaking her head, then after a few seconds she shared her reasoning."Then gossip would be all over the Tortall and beyond about the drunken irresponsible prince. His honors very important, something like him drinking himself stupid, going over to a woman's room and defecating himself would follow in his reputation for life."

"Should we call the Queen or King?"

"Oh Mithros no! They would punish him for months."

"Doesn't he deserve to be punished?"

"Hes our friend."

Anna sighed, she gave up arguing with the stubborn squire. This was going to be a terrible day, no matter how pleasant their morning was. "Well my friend, you get to clean him up."

Alan looked afraid. "Alone?"

"Alone."

The girls both were quiet, and looked at the Prince who had blown his nose all over his face while dreaming.

"Oh Anna please, please help me. It will be great training if you wish to be a medic!"

"What, cleaning up other mens shit?"

Alan nodded her head, her eyes pleading for help. "I cant do this alone Anna. Please help me, please."

"Your his squire, its your job!"

"You our friend, its your duty!"

"Crap Dammit Alan!"

"Please."

Anna's shoulders relaxed, and she gave up - she had never seen Alan ask for anything. _Only this once.._

"Fine, but you owe me."

The look of relief on the squires face made Anna feel much better about the decision, she was honor bound to help her friends.

_Now how to do this without getting caught._ It took Anna less than a minute to come up with their second plan of the week.

Step one:

Anna and Alan rolled the Prince up in the rug he ruined, and hid him under the bed. Then Alan left to go clean himself up more. Anna then called a servant to get her warm water, she requested two extra buckets also so they could swap the water out when it got too dirty. The servant seemed skeptical, but the fat tip Anna gave him distracted his inquiry. Alan walked back in the room with extra pairs of clothes for herself and the Prince.

Step two:

They unrolled the Prince and checked his vitals. Anna placed her fingers onto the vein in his neck, feeling his sweaty, clammy skin. He was fine. The then drug the rug with him on it to her lavatory. Then they started undressing him together. Anna was taking off his shirt, which was glued onto him with sweat. When she looked over at Alan, her heart sent out pity. Alan was slowly prying off the Princes shit pants, gagging silently. Tears were streaming down both of their faces at the foul odor. All the was left was his loincloth. Neither wanted to do it, but Anna chose to because Alan looked close to fainting. She grabbed the prince's arms and shoulders while Alan picked him up by his feet. They swung him into the water, the water turned brown. _Eewwww..._

Step three:

They drained the water. This quick clean up job was becoming a nightmare. Anna plugged back up the tub and they refilled it with the extra water. They time the water only looked dirty. They poured excessive amounts of soaps into his water, essentially turning it into a bubble bath. Anna and Alan cleaned every inch of his body, leaving out only his genitals and arse. The water would have to do. They drained the water.

Step four:

They were over the hill, now they were drying off the clean prince, neither girl had spoken. For some reason this entire ordeal seemed serious, Anna doubted any of them would speak of it again after today. They slipped clothes on the Prince. Alan left with the dirty rug and the princes old clothes to dispose of them. Anna stayed with the Prince giving him sips of water. Alan came back, and they changed their clothes and cleaned themselves and the lavatory up. Everything was as good as new.

Step five:

Payment. The girls sat by the window in the ridiculously plush chairs and talked. Alan wanted Johnathan to stop dating Delilah still.

"Alan, why don't you just ask for payment?"

"Payment?"

"Alan, we just suffered unspeakable horrors. He must be able to pay us in any sort of way. Normally that would be money, but hey, we're rich. Ask him to stop dating Delilah."

Alan looked thoughtful, "Maybe. What will be your payment?"

Anna smiled. What she had always wanted. "I want an all accesses important person status in the library."

"Thats a big wish."

"Thats the only wish I have."

Anna leaned back in her chair, relaxing along side of her friend. They heard the Prince slightly moaning in the background. Anna stood up, "Alan, i'm going to go get some soup to feed the Prince." _In order to get my prize he needs to be alive.. _

Anna slipped out of her door with a devilish grin and almost immediately ran into Gary and Raoul. Both looked upset. "Whats wrong guys?"

"Alan and the Prince are missing." Gary spoke up first, Raoul just nodded his head.

"Don't worry. They talked it out last night and uhh, both were too tired to get to their rooms to I half carried them to mine. I'd let you in but they both have terrible hang overs."

"You let two men sleep in your room?" Raoul looked disgusted.

"You two of all people know it was not like that. I need to get soup for the two drunks. They'll see you later. Okay?"

Both boys didn't answer, they just turned away looking pissed off. Anna continued on her marry way and brought a tray of abundant food for them. Including chicken broth to feed the sickly prince. When she knocked on the door, awkwardly supporting the tray on her hip and single hand, Alan opened the door. The prince was awake. His hangover must have been terrible, because he looked angrier than he did last night. This time neither girl was afraid, they had already seen him make a fool of himself, and they had seen him naked and covered in his own feces. His magical commanding aura was forever lost to both girls – they knew him better than they wanted to.

After their meal, they sat around and talked about swordsmanship. It took Johnathan half an hour before he realized what must have happened. The girls showed him the rings in the bathtub along with the various splashes of feces. The prince nearly vomited in the tub.

_That poor tub..it'll take hours of recoloring and servant labor to fix it. Its a good thing I have ample spending money..this will take a huge bribe._


	18. Heart Break

The air had quite an awkward silence, with both the girls looking at the disheveled Prince. He took a minute and began to speak, only to stop from lack of words. He looked at Alan first, then Anna.

"Why did this have to happen..?" His face looked unnaturally grim.

"Because you're a royal ass" Alan scoffed.

Anna leaned towards the Prince, "know this is going to cost you. Alan and I both have our prices." Anna walked out of the lavatory, Alan following. They shut the door behind themselves leaving the Prince a lone.

Alan turned to Anna, "I really wish we could have left him a lone. What we were trying to do seems wrong." With a sigh, Alan started walking out of the room. She turned to Anna, "I'll be back in a bit, I want to check up on Faithful – See what he's up to." _More like talk to my cat_ Alan thought as she walked down the halls.

The door silently closed, leaving Anna nothing to do. Just that moment Prince Johnathan chose to leave the sanctity of the bathroom and deal with the consequences. He sat on the edge of Anna's bed, almost trying to make light of the situation, "So, my dear friend, what's the price of having you both take care of me?"

"I do not know Alan's price, but I know my own. I want you to grant me unrivaled privileges to the castle's library. I know it might be difficult for you Johnathan, but it would be much more difficult dealing with the type of joking people would do behind your back. Alan has his own wishes for you to grant."

The Prince seemed to relax a bit, almost as if he was expecting so much worse from Anna, "I can probably talk to my father about it, but the most I will be able to do is tell the librarians to treat you well, sorry."

"Well Prince, you have much to be sorry about."

"Excuse me?" He turned himself towards Anna, "What do I have to be sorry about? All I did was act my part in the scenario you manipulated!"

That shut Anna up; in retrospect, she had really did set everything up to happen. The real goal was the make Johnathan jealous, but they hadn't expected John to act the way he did. "John, while what I did was wrong, we were not expecting that kind of behavior out of you. I was immature, and you were immature. I just want you've been doing to Alan."

"Who cares, this entire time both you and Alan have been messing with my head, to be honest you both are acting completely nuts. To think that you assumed I was stupid enough not to notice that you knew Alan was a guy. You kissing at the party shocked and appalled me."

"Johna-"

"Shut it. Let me speak. I want you to know that my relations with other women do not concern _you!_ You are my friend, not a romantic interest and it was wrong of you to manipulate Alan into furthering your own conquest."

Anna wanted to laugh, "But John-"

"Shut up Anna, you vile woman – listen to me!" He got off the bed and started pacing around his room, he stopped in front of Anna, his back to the door. "You need to get it through your thick skull, do not use Alan to try to manipulate situations. If anything like this happens again, I'll wash my hands clean of you!"

"Prince Joh-" softly said an entirely different voice

With this third interruption Johnathan raised his voice to a scream, turning to the source of his name. "What?!" As soon as he saw it was Alan, the anger left him. He stopped his hand, which had just a moment again been pointing a finger of shame at Anna. "Sorry Alan" he said under his breath.

Alan walked in, closing the partially open door behind him. "Johnathan, you need to understand something. Anna doesn't like you at all, she was helping me."

"What do you mean?"

"John, you're always making other people dance with me -"

"Alan! That's to help keep your cover, which you obviously aren't keeping very secret if you told Anna!" The exasperation was apparent in his voice.

"Johnathan. Please. Listen. Anna can be trusted, but, you need to listen to what I've wanted to tell you. I wanted people to leave me a lone, for people to stop teasing me about being desperately single – _especially_ compared with you. Johnathan, it hurts me seeing you with Delilah. I wanted to hurt you back by tricking you into thinking I was a lesbian. I also wanted you to worry about me loosing my cover. Johnathan.."

The Prince looked confused, anger passed over his face, then he looked hurt, then sullen. "I'm sorry for this entire situation. But I will not stop seeing Delilah just because she doesn't like you Alan." With that he got up and left the room.

Alan started to silently cry, leaving Anna in yet another awkward situation.


End file.
